A Decent British Comedy, But Nothing Timeless

Rating: 6/10 (16 August 2007)

After doing a good job and making other officers look bad, a detective is transferred to a sleepy village where everything is done for the greater good. Soon, he begins to clean up... but there's a killer on the loose! So this vacation gets a bit more exciting because this silt just got real.
As I write this, this film is ranked the 148th greatest film of all time. I'm sorry, it's not that good. "Shaun of the Dead" is a better film, I can name a dozen better comedies. This was good, but not that good. More often than not it just drags on and offers nothing original to the long list of movies it follows. I mean, it's primary gags rely on ripping off "Bad Boys II" and "Point Break" (see my review of this elsewhere). How is that clever? The beginning is funny, but stops after maybe ten minutes. One character is interesting -- the supposed killer (played by Timothy Dalton) who "slashes prices" and has deals that are "criminal". I think without him and his theme music the entire movie would have been a failure.
The basic plot is not unlike "The Wicker Man". The creators clearly acknowledge this by having the original actor from "Wicker Man" appear (I believe his name is Edward Woodward). And I'll tell you, I enjoyed the original film much better (though I think "Hot Fuzz" is better than the Nicolas Cage remake). This just doesn't have the timeless quality and weird musical undertones.
If you liked "Shaun of the Dead", you'll like this. Maybe you'll even like it better. Maybe you're like everyone else and think this is one of the greatest films ever. I don't get it, but if someone could clue me in I'd be happy to give the film a second chance. It runs too long, goes too slow and just doesn't hold my attention. At least it has some good murder scenes.