Hot Fuzz

It is nice to know that there are people out there who feel the same as me about the action movie genre. The love that Hot Fuzz clearly has for each and every cheesy yet awesome action cliché was on display for a full two hours. Of course the same points could have been made in a Scary Movie-type spoof but those movies suck. Hot Fuzz is able to make their jokes while still crafting a top of the line, well lets not go that far, action flick.

I was confident walking into the theater that this would deliver mainly because I am not even a fan of zombie movies but Shaun of the Dead was still fantastic. This time around Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg turn their talents towards my favorite genre. So we are treated to an abundance of slow motion, melodramatic camera angles, quick cuts, overextended action sequences, and more stuff than I can remember to list at this moment. Plus they come right out and highlight Bad Boys II as not only an inspiration but as a fricking plot point. It is a beautiful thing to know that that piece of trash is universally accepted as the pinnacle of over-the-top action trash. Add to that the constant aping of Michael Bay’s camera techniques and well … is there anyone left who defends Michael Bay? All the evidence is here for the world to see and in my eyes that man has been found guilty of all charges. Time to get back to Hot Fuzz or I will be here for the foreseeable future just trashing Bay. But don’t you worry be back in two months for Transformers and I can resume what I started here. Now how about that casting of Timothy Dalton? It’s always nice to see a former Bond pop his head up although it would have been nice to see Roger Moore. I guess you can’t win every battle. And Dalton is not the only classy Brit who shows up; add Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy, Steve Coogan, and Martin Freeman to that list. Still they are all there to support the antics of Pegg and Nick Frost, and believe me there are lots of shenanigans taking place. Frost may be playing a version of the same character he played in Shaun of the Dead but his timing is perfect as Pegg’s clueless partner. And I think the visual of Simon Pegg armed to the teeth with two shotguns in his backpack riding a horse into town is just a thing of beauty. In fact I can’t wait to watch the final ridiculous action sequences over and over on DVD; they made the only negative of the film, the slow build-up, worthwhile. The batting average for the jokes is amazingly high but there are just so many of them before the story climaxes that you start to get antsy. But every once and awhile a decapitation or gory death is thrown in to keep me involved. And yes I am always pleased to be gifted with some gore.

Is Hot Fuzz the type of movie that everyone can enjoy probably, but it definitely helps to have seen all the movies that are name dropped throughout. Come on! The characters talk about Point Break and then the movie goes so far as to recreate a scene from the movie. That is just sweet. It may not be the best movie of the year but it was easily worth the price of admission even if that price is now well past to point of sanity.

8 out of 10