Hot Fuzz - Review

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Rated: R

Distributor: Rogue Pictures

Release Date: 2007-04-20

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Steve Coogan, Timothy Dalton, Paul Freeman, Anne Reid, Billie Whitelaw, Stuart Wilson, Edward Woodward

Directed by Edgar Wright

Produced by Tim Bevan, Nira Park

Written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright

Visit the movie's Official Site!

Reviewed by Josh Tyler : 2007-03-27 20:17:54

Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright developed a vicious cult following in 2004 with the release of their zombie rom-com Shaun of the Dead. What really amazed so many people about that film is the way it took potshots at the zombie genre without actually becoming a parody of it. Shaun of the Dead makes fun of zombies while still managing to be a pretty good zombie movie itself… if you like that sort of thing. I’m going to come right out and admit I didn’t. Let the evisceration begin. I respect what they did with it, for the aforementioned reasons, but the film never connected with me. I’d always assumed it’s just because I wasn’t a big zombie fan in the first place, but now they’re back applying much the same formula to the buddy cop genre; or at least that’s what they’re supposed to be doing. While Hot Fuzz’s marketing materials seem pretty certain on this point, the movie itself seems much less sure.

The film begins promisingly with Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) being transferred to a quiet police job in the country against his wishes. You see, he’s just too good and he’s making London’s other less enthusiastic cops look really bad. Consigned to a village where crime is almost non-existent and paired with a fat buffoon of a partner named Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), Angel starts looking for trouble between cracks in the small town’s picture perfect veneer. He finds it and applies his over-the-top, big city policing skills to discovering the truth behind the tiny village’s outrageously high accident rate.

Like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz is not a parody film. It’s only half a parody film. Pegg and Wright staunchly avoid devolving into the easy jokes and lame Leslie Nieslon pantsless punch lines that define your average parody flick, but they don’t shy away from re-enacting the genre clichés of their favorite action movies. Unlike Shaun though, they don’t put much effort into picking apart the action genre while they do it. In fact, the first half of the movie isn’t really a buddy cop film at all, it’s more like a re-enactment of a bad slasher flick, with Angel and Butterman wandering around clueless while masked and robed figures traipse about cutting off heads over a spooky horror soundtrack. It’s only in the movie’s final act that it really gets around to being a cop movie, and even then it doesn’t put nearly as much effort into deconstructing the action movies it represents as it does in simply re-enacting great beats from other bad cop movies.

Simply re-enacting moments ripped out of everything from Cape Fear to Godzilla is not, in itself, funny. At least if this were a parody they’d throw in some shlocky attempt at a joke along with the re-enactment. Hot Fuzz doesn’t do that, and so avoids being a parody. Instead the film often ends up avoiding laughs entirely, leaving us with a mediocre, half-hearted thriller that suddenly decides to re-enact scenes from Bad Boys II in the last fifteen minutes for no discernable reason. They play it serious, so I guess that makes this an homage. Except since it can’t stick to one specific genre, I’m not even sure it qualifies as that.

That’s not to say there isn’t the occasional giggle in Hot Fuzz, but few of those have anything to do with a general lampoon of the action films the movie spends a lot of time and energy to discuss. Instead the best jokes come from the easy chemistry between Pegg and Frost, and even more so from Frost's brilliant comedic performance as a dim, fat guy sidekick. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are wickedly funny when they’re playing off each other, it’s just a shame Wright and Pegg didn’t give them more substance to work with when they wrote the script.

Ultimately, I don’t think it matters what I say about the film. I fully expect to find my inbox stuffed with hate mail in the morning. Wright, Pegg and Frost have developed the kind of insanely devoted cult following that will laud their efforts pretty much no matter what they result in. They have a group of people primed and ready to laugh at their film, funny or not. Those people are going to love Hot Fuzz, but is it going to make them any new fans? Somehow I doubt it. It’s far from a bad picture: the plot is well put together and the performances are better than average. Hot Fuzz is a well made movie with one or two agreeable chuckles in it. But with the kind of devotion they’ve cultivated, I went into Hot Fuzz expecting smart, edgy, belly laughs. Instead, I saw another middle of the road movie in which most of the best bits were already blown in the trailers.

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Craig Says:
March 27th, 2007 at 20:19
I'd give it three out of fiver as well, despite being a huge of Shaun.

Although Wright is director/writer and Nick Frost is Pegg's sidekick.

Josh T Says:
March 27th, 2007 at 20:19
I did invert that in one spot didn't I? Solved. Thanks Craig.

JamesW Says:
March 31st, 2007 at 10:03
Agree, it sucks.

This should of been a 5 minute TV spoof if anything, then it would of worked, not a full blown movie.

It's all been done before , better and much funnier. Pity.

and yes, I'm a SOTD fan.

Claire Says:
April 1st, 2007 at 01:15
this is the best movie ever it will leave you laughing and is a funa and energetic movie... i give it 5 satrs because it is entertaining and makes you laugh the whole way through... but make shore to take a freind so you can lugh as you go out and be scared together!!!

Ian McPhail Says:
April 27th, 2007 at 13:33
It seemed that the reviewer missed the main point of the movie. Other than the masked cult villian seen at every murder, the first half of the film doesn't play anything like a slasher horror movie. It is filled with dry, British humor and the development of the relationship between Danny Butterman and Nicholas Angel. On a second screening, the viewer will notice that many of the characters seemingly unimportant remarks make sense later when the full story is revealed. True Hot Fuzz is paying homage in the last half of the movie, but it remains a parody by going over the top with it's action. The "joke" relys on a basic understanding of the action genre and cliched dialouge, rather than the slapstick humor of Loaded Weapon. What the reviewer grasped in Shaun of the Dead, he failed to realize in Hot Fuzz. The movie is makes fun of buddy cop movies, while being a good buddy cop movie in itself. And, if for whatever reason, the reviewer did not enjoy Shaun of the Dead because "it wasn't his sort of thing" why trust his opinion on a movie whose style he is already against?

Opus Says:
May 1st, 2007 at 14:29
How sad that you couldn't enjoy this movie. It was hilarious! You're wrong in concluding that this wasn't a parody of buddy cop movies. It's not a parody in the style of the "Scary Movie" parodies - the desperate, obvious, oh-please-laugh-at-me sort of parody movie. This is a smart, fun parody which relies on the audience to recognize absurdity and to recognize what's being made fun of, without being told when to laugh. In addition, it's not just a parody, it's also a pretty good movie in its own right. Too many movies today are pigeonholed into being just one style, which makes them predictable and unsatisfying. Much of the genius in this movie is in the understanding that it is possible to deliver on more than one level.

E. Jay Says:
May 12th, 2007 at 16:13
I spent the first hour of this movie thinking to myself, well it's funny but it isn't THAT funny, and it's interesting but it's not THAT interesting... I wondered why the SOTD guys would make a straight up and down buddy cop flick. And then came the punch line. A 20 minute or so ending of which the absurdity knew no bounds. Pure genius.

I don't think you got the joke. I don't think many people really will. Throughout the last 20 minutes of the movie me and my friends laughed so hard we cried and remained in shock and disbelief until we got in the cars to drive home. It's a good movie, it's a great work of comedy. If you don't understand the subtlety of British humor you might not enjoy it as much, if that's the case stick to dick and fart jokes. But if you like engaging your brain, go watch this movie.

Josh T Says:
May 12th, 2007 at 16:15
I love British humor. I'm a huge fan of it. My shelf is full of Monty Python DVDs. I love The Office. Fawlty Towers is one of the greatest television shows ever made. Red Dwarf makes me bust a gut.

This is not that funny.

Geoslr Says:
July 25th, 2007 at 12:32
It did'nt make me laugh at all. Childish humour for 10 year olds who laugh whenever fuck, bastard or shit is mentioned. It was just a bunch of cops swearing and people getiing killed in stupid ways. Really wasted my time, miles over rated and was just not "completely hilarious" as the trailers mentioned.

B.G. Says:
August 3rd, 2007 at 07:20
I thought it was hilarious. The movie has a really subtle dry wit that is SO enjoyable. It is definetely VERY British type humour as one would obviously assume. For that reason I suggest that if you dislike movies/t.v. shows such as SOTD or Little Britain, DON'T watch it.

Also to Geoslr: It isn't the swearing that is supposed to be funny... It's both the outragessness and the somewhat dry hilarious humour. How could one not laugh at the "Facist" "Hag" scene or other such parts? Or the part where the bottle of sauce splatters his face and his teammate immediatly thinks he's been hit and goes nuts with the shotgun. Meanwhile you hear his partner yell "IT'S ONLY BOLOGNAISE!".

All in all I rate it a 4 and 1/2 out of 5, just because the first part was a little slow (though still funny).

B.G Says:
August 3rd, 2007 at 07:20
Oh almost forgot...
You said
"I love British humor. I'm a huge fan of it. My shelf is full of Monty Python DVDs. I love The Office. Fawlty Towers is one of the greatest television shows ever made. Red Dwarf makes me bust a gut.

This is not that funny."

It isn't QUITE as funny as Monty Python etc, however how could it ever be really? It's just so hard to find anything new that could ever compare to classics like those. My advice BTW, don't go into a movie with expectations or hopes, and try not to compare them too much. If you do you will compare masterpieces, to still very good movies, and therefore make those movies seem bad.

Jason P. Says:
August 5th, 2007 at 07:33
I really enjoyed this movie. Then again, I am the type of person that thinks an old lady getting kicked in the face is funny. And by the way, I don't like Monty Python......

Sonny S Says:
August 9th, 2007 at 11:39
"Those people are going to love Hot Fuzz, but is it going to make them any new fans? Somehow I doubt it."

I just watched Hot Fuzz, having never seen Shaun of the Dead. I will be watching that movie next. I'm definitely a "new" fan. This movie was perfect from beginning to end.

FellaTee Says:
August 12th, 2007 at 14:52
Totally agree. The Trailer looked great, the movie dragged on. Very disappointing.

DeeEhm Says:
August 29th, 2007 at 21:53
I agree completely with Josh T. I am also a big fan of British comedy, but this movie doesn't fall into that category. Some people talk of the dry humor, but I think it was so dry, it evaporated. I wasn't sure what kind of movie it was trying to be. I knew it was supposed to be a send-up on cop/action movies, but it was just too wierd to be funny. The reviewers who called it "uproariously hilarious" and "a laugh fest from start to finish" must be really easily amused. Yes, I found the 'fascist / hag' bit funny, but I think that was the only chuckle the film could squeeze out of me, and I like to laugh. I haven't seen SOTD, and have no desire to if it's anything like this. I can appreciate subtle humor, but this was a little too subtle to be funny. Too long, too.

Simply Irresistible Says:
November 15th, 2007 at 00:21
I have to agree with Opus, Ian, E.Jay, and B.G on this one. It was interesting but not overly so if that makes sense. It was funny but not overly funny. But it was good enough to keep your attention, laugh at its humor and enjoy the movie. I ordered it on On Demand after I read your review, I have to judge for myself what I think is good. I dissagree with this review in many ways. I loved the subtle parody of Lethal Weapon, and not so subtle parodies of Bad Boy and Point Break. I had thought of more movies that it imitated but now it escapes me. It was very funny in an intelligent way. This movie is worth seeing and definitely worth my 3.99 for a 24 hr viewing, I actually watched it twice, along with 1408 and Deck the Halls. I had to see those for myself too.

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