Movie Review by EDF
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Steve Coogan
Director: Edgar Wright
There seems to be a movie genre that has fallen to the wayside in recent years and that is the cop buddy movie. One of the last movies from this genre was the budget inflated BAD BOYS 2 which disappointed fans of the original movie. So is it a good move to base your new project as a kind of homage to the buddy movie? The only comedy troupe that is just right for this job is the SHAUN OF THE DEAD team who do their own take on a genre where the explosions are as ridiculous as the one liners that follow it.
Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is an intelligent, determined Met police officer whose arrest records put the rest of the London police force to shame. When Angel is promoted and a transfer is on the books, Angel’s superiors send him to the sleepy West Country village of Sandford. Finally realising that his work colleagues and girlfriend do not want him around, Angel reluctantly packs his bags and goes to his next assignment.
Sandford, where the crime rate is practically zero, does not initially seem to be that challenging and there’s not a whole lot for Angel to do except arrest under age drinkers and try to capture runaway animals, which is just as well as the local police force headed by Inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent) are not the sharpest officers around. Angel befriends Frank’s son, Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) who is also a police officer and has let Hollywood’s take of the law influence him. The sleepy town soon gets a rude awakening when a number of murders occur. Even though everyone insists that these murders are accidents, Angel’s trained sensibilities tell him otherwise and along with Danny, they both set out to reveal the motive and identity of the killer.
While SHAUN OF THE DEAD was an intelligent rom-com-zombie movie and gained a lot of fans along the way, HOT FUZZ will not disappoint and is gripping from the first frame. The editing is sharp and smart as we get a look into Nicholas Angel’s background story in the space of a couple of minutes. Angel’s trek from London to Sandford is edited in such a way that you feel as if you’ve made the long trip with him. Simon Pegg is a revelation as you almost believe that he is a member of the police force with a determination to get the job done. It should be of no surprise to anyone who has followed the team of Pegg/Frost/Wright that HOT FUZZ is very funny with a few genuine laugh out loud moments.
