Hot Fuzz: A hilarious action comedy with heart…and a funny swan

I felt like I should do a follow up post on “Hot Fuzz,” so here goes. Don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers, but if you haven’t seen the film, you won’t get all the painstakingly incorporated references (ok, references thrown in with moderate effort) I wrote in this post. So run and see the movie and then come back to reread my post!

Starting with the negative, the only critique I have is that “Hot Fuzz” was not quite as good as I had anticipated – “Shaun of the Dead” had a tighter script that never lost its momentum, but “Hot Fuzz” starts to lag through the second act. However, it packs quite a punch in the last half hour for a satisfying finish.

“Hot Fuzz” was a much more ambitious film than “Shaun of the Dead,” and it more than makes up for its slight imperfections with the brilliant comedy and action. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s chemistry is a delight to watch. Their rapport is engaging, funny, and most of all really sweet. Their comic timing is flawless, and they are so damn interesting to watch that you can’t take your eyes off of them. The supporting cast is excellent, notably Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Bill Nighy and Paddy Considine. Watch out for uncredited roles by Cate Blanchett and Peter Jackson, too.

This quotable movie undoubtedly already has and will continue to provide tens of minutes of quoting glee (with I’d imagine bad English accents if you’re American). One of my favorite jokes was:

Nicholas Angel [Pegg]: We have to do something, Frank’s appointed himself as Judge, Jury and Executioner.
Danny Butterman [Frost]: (agitated and defensive) He is not Judge Judy and Executioner!

Read more memorable quotes >>

The action scenes were a blast, and the movie is chock full of winks to film geeks. (I loved the sly reference to “The Shining” in “Hot Fuzz” – I’ll give you a hint: The “hag” said it…watch it again if you missed it. What is it exactly about “The Shining” that compels all of us film nerds to sneak in a reference to it? There was even one that tried to make it into McG’s “Charlie’s Angels” – a completely recreated red bathroom – talk about random and a wise outtake. But I digress.)

This is definitely a guy movie, but I loved it, being a girl that loves “Bad Boys” almost as much as “Hot Fuzz” helmer Edgar Wright does – it’s the second DVD I ever bought! Note the obvious similarity of the “Hot Fuzz” onesheet to the “Bad Boys 2″ poster. This film has been described as a Hollywood action parody by some, but I saw it not as a spoof but as a heartfelt hats off to the good cop/ buddy action flicks of the Donner (Lethal Weapon)/ McTiernan (Die Hard) / Bruckheimer mold. The great references to “Point Break” (directed by Kathryn Bigelow) and the impeccable match shots from “Bad Boys” were just….off the f*$#ing chain! It’s refreshing to see such a talented and fresh director be unashamed to admit that he genuinely liked Bad Boys 2, but then go and make a movie that is infinitely superior. While I myself didn’t like “Bad Boys 2”, I did LOVE “Armageddon” and was ridiculed in a film class for admitting to listening to Michael Bay’s DVD commentary (stupid pretentious film students!). “Hot Fuzz” is definitely very unpretentious, good fun. But even if you don’t know the referenced action movies by heart, I have no doubt that you’ll still love “Hot Fuzz” for its characters, jokes, and action.

If you haven’t watched it yet, what are you waiting for? This trailer (not shown in the U.S.) will make you want to SPEED (preferably in a car chase), not walk, to the theater! I guarantee that “Hot Fuzz” will make you want to shoot two guns whilst jumping through the air and utter, “Shit just got real!”

If you can’t view the video, click here.

YARB.