Hot Fuzz (2007) - Film Review

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton & Jim Broadbent

Screenplay: Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg

Directed By: Edgar Wright
Certificate: 15

Hot Fuzz marks the second instalment in The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. Following Shaun Of The Dead, a masterpiece of film-making, Hot Fuzz has a lot of high expectations to meet. Amazingly, the production team have struck gold a second time, and may have somehow managed to best its predecessor. But what is that makes Hot Fuzz one of the best film experiences that I've ever enjoyed?

 

Hot Fuzz introduces us to Police Sergeant Nicholas Angel, played by Simon Pegg. Unlike Shaun from Shaun Of The Dead, Nicholas Angel is practically a perfect specimen of a human being. He's a workaholic that is completely dedicated to, and never seems to switch off from his job. The difficulty that Nicholas has in taking time for himself outside of his work, makes him very different from Shaun In Shaun Of The Dead. While this is a refreshing change, it makes for some interesting contrast between the two films, while also showing just how brilliant and versatile Simon Pegg is in both roles. Over the course of the film, Nicholas' dedication to his job leads to him being "promoted" and relocating to the sleepy village of Sandford. Initially it seems like Sandford is too perfect for anything to go wrong, but a chain of grisly murders leads Nicholas to discover that the village is far from perfect.

 

While trying to find the killer, Nicholas gets to work with his new colleague, Danny. While Nicholas is really the brains of the film, Danny provides the heart. Danny is arguably my favourite character in the film, as he provides a large majority of the laughs here. While Hot Fuzz does rely on some absurd yet entirely laughable humour, some of my favourite laughs are the ones that Nick Frost delivers in a more subtle manner. However, it isn't fair to say that Danny is here just for comic relief; he’s also a well fleshed-out character and feels like a real person, and Nick Frost is another perfect casting choice.

 

Thanks purely to its immense size, we can't forget the supporting cast, and ... crikey. It’s probably one of the largest casts I’ve ever known for a film. I could talk about Olivia Colman, Bill Bailey, Anne Reid, David Bradley, Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman and more ... but I'd be here all day. Instead, I’ll try and cover the more prominent supporting cast instead. Firstly, we have ex-007 actor Timothy Dalton, who plays the as-obvious-as-a-sore-thumb villain. His character may not be particularly deep or interesting, but in this case, it is in no way a problem, as their isn't exactly any kind of emotional connection between him and the audience. However, Timothy Dalton’s performance as Simon Skinner is just perfect, and you can tell just how much Dalton has brought to the role and how much fun he is having playing this character. Along with Simon Skinner, we have Jim Broadbent as Danny’s father. Up until a certain turning point with his character (that I won't mention here), Jim Broadbent does another to-be-expected fantastic job. Even when significant revelations are made about the character, these are in no way out of place. As for the rest of the supporting cast, there are just too many to talk about, but I’m confident in saying that no actor does a bad job with role they’re in.

 

Another of Hot Fuzz's greatest strengths is the wonderful mystery woven throughout the script. Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's script constantly shines with wit and humour, and can manipulate audience emotions in a heartbeat. The audience spends a large majority of the film watching Nicholas and Danny piece together a very complex mystery, and it feels like this is where the film is genuinely heading. However, all of their theories are blown out of the water by a very anticlimactic but still strangely perfectly-handled reveal. The real reason for the multiple murders is so understated and so simple and completely pulls the rug out from under the feet of the audience. Time and time again, I have watched that anticlimactic reveal, and it’s just so perfect.

 

Following the discovery of the murderer's identity, the last half-hour of the film descends into an action-packed shootout. Gory and filled to the brim with violence, Edgar Wright's already-superb direction somehow gets even better. However, the last half-hour of the film isn't just a generic shootout, as while the audience marvel at everything on screen, they are still laughing. We’ve got pensioners using rifles, shotguns, pistols and sub-machine guns against the police, the police storming a Somerfield’s, and a fight in a model village. One of the biggest laughs of the whole film comes from the Reverend Shooter, and his exchange with Nicholas never fails to make me laugh.

 

To conclude, Hot Fuzz is not only a fantastic film, but it’s certainly my favourite comedy and perhaps even my favourite film. There is just so much here that I love, whether it be Edgar Wright’s direction, the perfect performances from all the cast, the anticlimactic but still wonderful conclusion to the mystery, some brilliant and gory action sequences and hilarity throughout. When it comes to the amount of laughs that you'll get, Hot Fuzz is a funnier film than Shaun of the Dead. As for which film is best overall, many critics would argue that Shaun Of The Dead is the best film of the trilogy (and understandably so, because it‘s phenomenal), but for me, Hot Fuzz is the best of an already spectacular trilogy of films.

 

 

Hot Fuzz



10/10