Brilliant! It's got everything ...

Rating: 10/10 (6 October 2007)

And I really do literally mean EVERYTHING you could possibly crave to find in a relaxing and genuinely entertaining cinema experience! "Hot Fuzz" brilliantly combines the wittiness & fast dialogs of a buddy cop movie, the excitement & spectacular stunts of a Hollywood summer blockbuster, the absurdity & convoluted plot twists of an Italian Giallo, the excessive gore and sickness of splatter-horror, the atmosphere & setting of a British comedy sitcom and the cast of a thousand. If all this isn't enough yet, "Hot Fuzz" refers to multiple great classics of the big screen ("Jaws", "The Wicker Man", "Straw Dogs") and even pays tribute to styles and sub genres of the almost forgotten but once golden days of cinema (Spaghetti Westerns, Gialli). For those who were still suspecting "Shaun of the Dead", the previous scripting collaboration between Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, to be a fluke, "Hot Fuzz" will take the doubt away once and for all. These two British lads are creative and multi-talented movie freaks and they know exactly how the please a wide & versatile range of audiences. The less you know about the film's plot (particularly the main twist) the better, because it's even more amusing when it comes as a totally unexpected and deliciously grotesque surprise. Simon Pegg stars as London's super cop Nicholas Angel, but he's actually too good in comparison with the rest of the corps, and so his superiors shamelessly transfer him to the countryside community with the lowest crime-rate in the whole of England; Sandford. Nick's new colleagues aren't used to solving crimes at all and fill their days with hanging around the pubs, smoking cigarettes and making fun of his obsession with law enforcement. Even when several prominent Sandford inhabitants die in grisly "accidents", Nick can't seem to convince them to investigate the possibility of murder. The eventual truth behind the crimes is as demented as it is brilliant, and the last half hour of "Hot Fuzz" is a simply non-stop adrenalin-rushing, over-the-top comical, blood-spattered and wildly cheerful spitfire of action highlights. Technically speaking, "Hot Fuzz" is a masterpiece as well. The editing is genius, the cinematography is very imaginative and the film makes absolute brilliant use of the rural settings and all its typical characteristics and clichés. Of course, the film owes a large part of its massive impact to Simon Pegg's masterful performance. He's simply awesome and hugely charismatic, especially when depicting the obstinate and firm officer who knows every tiniest detail of the law enforcement book. Pegg's facial expressions (or lack of, for that matter) add even more comical genius to the already hysterical script. The supportive cast (pretty much an assembly of England's finest players) is amazing as well, and each and every one delivers flawless performances. I think Timothy Dalton hasn't had this much fun starring in a film since he completed his first scene wearing the James Bond outfit. "Hot Fuzz" is a unique experience all together. It features all the known genre clichés & stereotypes and narrates a seemingly derivative story, and yet, the elaboration is (or at least feels like) something entirely fresh and original. Comedy and violence can melt together in a movie perfectly, it simply requires a gifted team of cast and crew members. Highly recommended! Seriously, if you haven't watched "Hot Fuzz" yet, do it as fast as you can!