British invasion of action comedies starts here! (hopefully)

Rating: 8/10 (29 May 2009)

Hot fuzz is a pretty darn good comedy about a super city cop transferred against his will to a small village where nothing big ever seems to happen. The super cop in question, played by Simon Pegg, is extremely competent and by the book. I was impressed at how soberly and seriously he was played without a hint of camp in sight. He could have been in any serious cop drama or action flick. The writers could have easily made him a pompous jerk but he didn't come off that way. It's the third time I see Simon Pegg in a movie and to me he's like a chameleon, I can barely recognize him each time so kudos to him. In contrast, you have all the other characters who are a bit off-kilter or eccentric. I liked most of them, particularly Timothy Dalton as a grocery store manager, but I wish the other cops had just a little more character without going into Police Academy territory. I admit having had trouble understanding some of the accents (not counting the old cop that's a joke in itself) but I'm not holding it against the film since most of the writing, with its share of profanity, was so much fun and witty. The cop played by Nick Frost eventually became likable as a slacker trying to emulate and befriend the uptight Simon Pegg. Their chemistry was wonderful and convincing as I suppose it should be since in real life they've been best friends for a long time. So you seem to have the hallmarks of a buddy cop film with a few quirks and wrenches added for spice.
The directing was certainly above-par and creative. I was constantly amused by how seemingly innocuous mundane actions were made so very exciting through the cutting and sound effects. Let's mention the few surprising bloody moments that certainly reminded me of Shaun of the Dead. Not everyone will like them but I did. I found most of the jokes quite funny, although not laugh-out-loud material until the hilarious last act. That last act was just so unexpected yet logical, with such a dramatic yet comedic escalation (yes both together), that it makes you feel jubilation as it goes on. It's just very satisfying and I appreciated very much how the super cop tried to handle everything while staying true to his beliefs. A typical American buddy cop film would have made him much less "subtle", therefore evacuating the comedy, and would have tacked on an unnecessary love interest. Hot Fuzz seems almost like a double-headed beast since it embraces its fair lot of action film clichés while subverting them and since it's both a spoof and a homage. In final analysis though, it's just a great mix of action and comedy.
Rating: 8 out of 10