By The Power Of Greyskull

Rating: 10/10 (16 February 2007)

What is there to say about "Hot Fuzz" when comparing to "Shaun of the Dead" or "Spaced".
Firstly, it's a little slow in the beginning, but I liked this. I liked the build up and the character introductions. It's your typical "fish out of water" set up. Think John McClane arrives in Dibley. When Nicholas Angel is promoted and transfered to Sandford, it's your typical Wiltshire/Somerset village, complete with all the village life that you would expect. You're introduced to all manner of characters. There's the underage drinker tolerant pub owners, Simon Skinner, the sinister manager of Somerfield (played and hammed up by the wonderful Timothy Dalton), Jim Broadbent's Detective Inspector Frank Butterman, who gives the impression wanting a quiet life, Neighbourhood Watch chief Tom Weaver who is all about preserving the idyllic mirage that is the village, played by none other than Edward Woodward, and (of course) Nick Frost's PC Danny Butterman, who's extremely eager to be just like his Hollywood heroes.
However, not is all it appears in Sandford and there are a spate of gruesome deaths, with all the gore and humour that you'd expect from the Shaun creators. Angel begins to suspect that Skinner is responsible, as he seems to make all kinds of suggestive comments. And after an uneasy start, Danny Butterman and Nicholas Angel investigate, despite the assurances that all is well and "accidents happen".
Without giving too much away about the subsequent plot, it is safe to say that it picks up and the violence and humour is relentless once it starts. There are great homages to Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hollywood in general that only Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright can pull off. Spaced fans can watch for the nod to the paint-ball episode! I loved this film... Whilst not quite as consistent as Shaun, it still did not fail to deliver and I would recommend this to anyone!!!