Shaun of the Dead has met its match!

Rating: 10/10 (14 February 2007)

Hot Fuzz is simply awesome! I know I have said that about a lot of movies that admittedly weren't awesome in the past, but Hot Fuzz really, really, really is awesome! And believe it or not that is still an understatement for how much of a success story this movie really is. We've got superb characters, more gore galore, intense action, great murder sequences, a witty and inventive script, more cameos from British comedians, subtle references to great action movies and Shaun of the Dead, a great double act from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, a brilliantly fun turn from Timothy Dalton proving finally he's more than just that Bond who did two movies. In fact this movie is practically perfect in my eyes, some people might think the action takes over too much in the final act, some people might think that the movie isn't funny. But in my eyes this movie is everything I wanted and a lot more added on top, a superb follow up to Shaun of the Dead, and easily going to be one of the best, and actually could be the best movie of 2007!The idea behind Hot Fuzz is admittedly not as original or as funny as the idea for Shaun of the Dead was. The idea of Shaun of the Dead was interesting and amusing before I had even seen the film, the idea here has its moments but it seems actually quite rudimentary. However, what Hot Fuzz makes up with is a hilarious script, great performances and just more of a sense of gun and coolness than Shaun of the Dead had. Now it hurts me to say this as I adored every last inkling of Shaun of the Dead, but I still found Hot Fuzz to be a better movie despite the idea being not as creative.
Now then the performances of Hot Fuzz. Well once again Simon Pegg and Nick Frost prove that they really are one of the best double acts ever! They were great as the two best friends in Shaun of the Dead, here they're even better. Admiteddly Simon Pegg's character, Nicholas isn't as fun as Shaun was, but he's a bit cooler and he has a lot of great stuff towards the end. But Danny easily rivals Ed from Shaun. Danny possesses a child like innocence that makes you laugh like mad. His great eyeball sequence had me in stitches because it actually seems real, you can imagine someone doing that to get a laugh. And I suppose in a movie that's got a lot of fantasy action madness surrounding it, there is still the human aspect at the core that makes the movie all the more enjoyable. Its believable while still having the cool slow-mo action shootouts. Timothy Dalton relishes his screen time in this movie, he hasn't done a lot since he hung up his tuxedo as Bond all those years ago, but finally he finds a performance that really shows his talent. The fact that he is clearly having a whale of a time as well made me enjoy his performance all the more. He has some great lines and just seems so well, traditionally evil its great!
The other big thing I want to mention about Hot Fuzz before I give my hefty review a rest is of course the action. Hot Fuzz is parodying cop movies, so its obvious you'll get some action as well. And boy the action is cool. The action I suppose doesn't truly kick off until the final third, and when it does the movie seems to explode with, well there's no other word for it, awesomeness! We have a superbly staged gun fight, no scrap that we have roughly three superbly staged gun fights, a punch up, a car chase and oh we have a lot more as well. The action is surprisingly intense and realistic for a parody. And its this fact that makes the movie so much better. Shaun of the Dead got some genuine frights in the movie as well, well here Hot Fuzz delivers in terms of action and in terms of being a thriller as well. In fact some of the murder sections are surprisingly grisly and tense. I knew the movie would be violent, but I had no idea it'd rival Shaun in terms of gore. The thriller sections of the movie have their own moments of comedy, but they can be surprisingly tense as you sit and wait for the next person to fall foul of the murderer. The movies gory, but its also fun gory, so for those of you panicking that Hot Fuzz features nasty gore like it does in a movie such as Saw then don't panic. The gore here is clearly played for laughs despite some of it being quite nasty in places.
If you liked Shaun of the Dead, if you like action movies, hell if you like movies you must see this film! Its a triumph in British cinema, Pegg and Wright have done it again, now lets hope that lightning strikes three times when their inevitable third project arrives on our cinema.