Better the more I see it.

Rating: 9/10 (10 May 2008)

Hot Fuzz is one of those movies that really grows on you. The first time I saw it, I was a little disappointed, as I was expecting something very much like Shaun Of The Dead and instead felt that this was even more of an "homage" to the films it built off of rather than a comedy. And really, it is. But upon repeated viewings, you'll likely notice a lot of jokes you had never noticed before, and even more, you'll come to appreciate the brilliant pacing of the movie.
It's fair to say that Hot Fuzz starts out very slow. Despite it's obvious influences - including a couple of action movies mentioned during the film - it really stands out above all that it borrows from with some surprisingly smart writing. The movie's plot (and clever twist) won't blow your mind, but it's one of the best action movie story's ever to grace the screen if only because it never insults the viewer's intelligence. Hot Fuzz succeeds just as much as a mystery and suspense film as it does as an action movie, and thus ends up - like Shaun Of The Dead - combining several great genres of film into one, though in a much less obvious (and ultimately better) manner than its predecessor.
What really sets Hot Fuzz apart from the crowd is the pacing, though. It's funny to think of it, but in terms of pacing, it's can easily be compared to Kurosawa's classic The Seven Samurai. The film starts out slow, introducing the characters and including just a few brief, sporadic scenes of action. The first time you see it, it may even seem a bit boring (though, as I said, it becomes easier to watch upon repeated viewings as you begin to catch some of the better, more subtle jokes in the dialog). But it all culminates in a very long, nearly non-stop fight scene that seems simultaneously subdued and over-the-top. The entire movie strikes this sort of balance throughout, which is one of the main reasons it succeeds as being a genuinely great film. Since it also succeeds at being a genuinely entertaining movie - and since it only seems to get better the more times you watch it - I'd easily consider it one of the best movies I've ever seen.