Too much of a good thing...

Rating: 7/10 (2 October 2007)

"Hot Fuzz" comes from the same British filmmakers who released the zombie-romantic-comedy "Shaun of the Dead" upon the earth in 2004. It appears that something innate within British sensibility or British wit would allow for such an amalgam to work so well.
With "Hot Fuzz" fewer muscles seemed to be stretched, generically speaking. This film follows a by-the-book London police officer from the big city to a dismal post in a small village where no crime ever occurs. Or so it would seem.
Thus setting the stage for a comedy-mystery-actioner that is frequently charming in a "Waking Ned Devine" sort of way and occasionally falling into "Beverly Hills Cop" knock-off territory. Granted there's a running joke about our main character whose never once seen a police action film or likewise shot his gun outside a moving car (et al), but much like the American films it seems to be setting in a quaint English village this flick putters along into the dreaded action length of 130 minutes (possibly thanks to former James Bond Timothy Dalton's presence). Although "Hot Fuzz" is great fun with dry wit and all of that Brit stuff, it overstays its welcome just like the Americans.