Hot Fuzz

**“*Big cops. Small town. Moderate violence.*”**

***Hot Fuzz*** is the second film co-written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. It was released in 2007, and focuses on the action and buddy-cop genres. It stars Simon Pegg as Nicholas Angel, Nick Frost as Danny Butterman, Timothy Dalton as Simon Skinner and Jim Broadbent as Frank Butterman.

## Plot

Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg), an extremely dedicated police officer in London's Metropolitan Police Service, performs his duties so well that he is accused of making his colleagues look bad. As a result, his superiors transfer him to crime-free Sandford, a village in rural Gloucestershire. Once there, he immediately arrests a large group of underage drinkers, and a drunk driver who turns out to be his partner, Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), the son of the local police Inspector, Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent). Danny, a well-meaning but naive police constable, is in awe of his new partner. Angel struggles to adjust to the slow, uneventful pace of the village. Despite clearing up several otherwise unnoticed crimes in short order, including confiscating a naval mine and a large number of unlicensed firearms, Angel soon finds his most pressing concern to be an escaped swan. His attention to the letter of the law also makes him the focus of dislike by some of his co-workers. Angel and Danny eventually bond over drinks at the local pub and action films, *Point Break* and Bad Boys II*.*

A series of gruesome deaths rock the village and all are labelled as accidents. Angel, believing the deaths to be murders, begins to investigate. He attempts to arrest Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton), the manager of the local Somerfield supermarket, under suspicion of murdering the victims due to their involvement in a lucrative property deal. Skinner is able to provide plausible explanations for all of Angel's charges, and a videotape of himself working at his supermarket while the murders took place.

When Angel returns to his hotel room, he is attacked by a cloaked figure. He knocks the attacker unconscious, discovering it is the trolley boy at Skinner's supermarket, sent by Skinner to kill Angel. Angel heads to a nearby castle where he discovers the truth: Skinner, Inspector Butterman, and the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance (NWA), intent on keeping Sandford's title of "Village of the Year", have been murdering anyone who they saw as a threat to the village's charming image, and the property deal Angel discovered was actually just a coincidence. Inspector Butterman reveals that his wife committed suicide after the village lost the title many years ago, motivating him to use extreme methods. Angel discovers the bodies of various "problem" people whom the NWA disposed of, before being cornered and 'stabbed' by Danny, apparently a member of the NWA.

Having tricked the NWA into believing that Angel is dead, Danny drives him to the village limits and releases him, insisting that he knew nothing about their true activities. Danny urges Angel to go back to London, reasoning that no one would believe the truth about Sandford. At a motorway service station, Angel sees *Point Break* and *Bad Boys II* on a nearby DVD rack and is inspired to stop the NWA. He drives back to town and arms himself with the firearms he confiscated earlier. After Angel meets with Danny in the village, the two begin to dispatch the members of the NWA in an increasingly destructive and frantic series of gun fights. Confronted by their colleagues, who are quickly persuaded of the truth, Angel and Danny take the battle to the supermarket. Skinner and Inspector Butterman flee, and are pursued by Angel and Danny to a nearby miniature park. There, Angel battles Skinner, who accidentally impales his jaw on the spire of the miniature cathedral. Inspector Butterman attempts to escape in a car, but crashes into a tree when the swan Angel caught attacks him from the back seat.

Angel's former superiors arrive from London, begging him to return, as the crime rate has risen dramatically without him, but Angel chooses to remain in Sandford. Back at the police station, Tom Weaver, the last remaining member of the NWA, attempts to shoot Angel, but Danny shields Angel and takes the shot. In the resulting chaos, the confiscated sea mine is triggered and the station is destroyed.

The film fast-forwards to one year later and Angel lays flowers on a grave marked 'Butterman'; it is revealed that Danny has survived and the grave is his mother's. Danny is now a sergeant and Angel the head of the Sandford Police Service, and the two head off to patrol Sandford.

## Cast

### Sandford Police Service

Simon Pegg as PC/Sgt./Insp. Nicholas Angel

Nick Frost as PC/Sgt. Danny Butterman

Paddy Considine as DS Andy Wainwright

Rafe Spall as DC Andy Cartwright

Kevin Eldon as Sgt. Tony Fisher

Olivia Colman as PC Doris Thatcher

Karl Johnson as PC Bob Walker

Bill Bailey as The Turner Twins

### Neighbourhood Watch Alliance

Jim Broadbent as Insp. Frank Butterman

Timothy Dalton as Simon Skinner

Edward Woodward OBE as Prof. Tom Weaver

Billie Whitelaw CBE as Joyce Cooper

Eric Mason as Bernard Cooper

Stuart Wilson as Dr. Robin Hatcher

Paul Freeman as Rev. Philip Shooter

Kenneth Cranham as James Reaper

Peter Wight as Roy Porter

Julia Deakin as Mary Porter

Patricia Franklin as Annette Roper

Lorraine Hilton as Amanda Paver

Tim Barlow as Mr. Treacher

Trevor Nichols as Greg Fowler

Elizabeth Elvin as Sheree Fowler

Rory McCann as Michael Armstrong

### Metropolitan Police Service

Bill Nighy as Metropolitan Police Ch. Insp. Kenneth

Martin Freeman as Metropolitan Police Sergeant

Steve Coogan as Metropolitan Police Inspector (uncredited)

Cate Blanchett as Janine (uncredited)

Edgar Wright as Dave (uncredited)

### London residents

Peter Jackson as Father Christmas (uncredited)

Joe Cornish as Bob

Chris Waitt as Dave

Garth Jennings as Crack Addict (uncredited)

### Sandford residents

Stephen Merchant as Peter Ian Staker

Alice Lowe as Tina

David Bradley as Arthur Webley

Anne Reid as Leslie Tiller

Ben McKay as Peter Cocker

Adam Buxton as Tim Messenger

David Threlfall as Martin Blower

Lucy Punch as Eve Draper

Ron Cook as George Merchant

Edgar Wright as Shelf Stacker (uncredited)

Joseph McManners as Gabriel

Graham Low as The Living Statue

Alexander King as Aaron A Aaronson

Kevin & Nicholas Wilson as Butcher Brothers

### Archive footage

Martin Lawrence as Detective Marcus Burnett (Bad Boys II)

Will Smith as Detective Mike Lowrey (Bad Boys II)

Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah (Point Break)

Patrick Swayze as Bodhi (Point Break)