Oh Pegg... where did it all go wrong?

Rating: 5/10 (4 March 2007)

All hail the mighty Simon Pegg, two series of Spaced, an instant cult classic of a film in Shaun of the Dead and a multitude of cameo performances in the cream of British comedy... so what the hell happened with Hot Fuzz? This journalist, like many other of Pegg's die hard fans was ecstatic at the prospect of a new film featuring him and his partner in crime Nick Frost but left the cinema with a dejected sense of disappointment. Hot Fuzz cashed in shamelessly on Shaun of the Dead's success mimicking scenes and catchphrases beyond the acceptable point of cross-referencing.
Don't get me wrong, it's a decent enough film, Pegg plays hardened uber-cop Nicholas Angel, who is ousted from the Metropolitan police by his colleagues (great casting of Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy) for having a 400 per cent higher arrest rate than anyone else. Embarrassed, the Met send him to the quiet West Country village of Sanford to sweep him under the carpet. What ensues is a well contrived homage to the range of films and TV shows that rely on a seemingly peaceful English countryside village being the murder capital of the country.
While the on-screen relationship between Angel and the incompetent constable, Danny Butterworth (Frost) he is partnered with is amusing at times, it's simply not a laugh-out-loud comedy by any stretch. This would be fine if the films obvious one-liners weren't so clearly trying to be just that. Seemingly confused about it's genre Hot Fuzz flicks from comedy horror, to a bad episode of Midsomer Murders concluding with an action finale straight from Die Hard throughout its course.
This all may seem a tad harsh, but it's hard not to be disappointed. With such a great track record everyone was expecting an original and hilarious film from writers Pegg and Edgar Frost. What was produced was a funny film, less witty than its predecessor perhaps, but not without it's moments. The all-star cast of Jim Broadbent, Bill Bailey, Timothy Dalton and far too many more to mention are perfectly suited to their roles with the exception of Frost who's bumbling action film obsessed character sounds like a bad impression of Vicky Pollard with half the depth.
Hot Fuzz is undoubtedly worth watching but perhaps wait until the DVD. If you're reading this Pegg, I only says these things because I love you and you've hurt me. Now everybody chant "Spaced: Series 3, Spaced: Series 3... "