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Hot Fuzz
To me, the comedy pairing of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is the new Laurel and Hardy. In the same way that a Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy film would guarantee you a few laughs, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are like a cozy comedy blanket where you know by watching their movies you're going to have a good time. It's one of those rare pairings where it simply just works; even with a film like Paul (which I have yet to see) that received a mediocre reaction from critics the majority still agreed that the Pegg/Frost pair made it a fun watch. The second in the Cornetto trilogy, Hot Fuzz is highly regarded as one of their best comedy efforts to date. Many even claim it to be better than the excellent Shaun of the Dead although I'm not sure I necessarily agree.
In Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg plays metropolitan policeman Nicholas Angel who is promoted to sergeant and moved to a police department in the village of Sandford after the Chief inspector (Bill Nighy) decides he is too good at his job. There he is assigned police officer Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), son of the village's Chief Inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent), as his partner. Danny turns out to be useless and Nicholas quickly becomes tired of the small cases he has to deal with. When a number of villagers are murdered by a mysterious killer, Nicholas finds himself having to convince the police department that the deaths were not accidents in order to investigate and arrest the culprit.
Whilst Hot Fuzz has plenty of laughs, unlike the general consensus on this movie I didn't find myself laughing as much as I did with Shaun of the Dead. Yeah, the running joke with the escaped swan is funny and the crossword skit with Joyce Cooper (Billie Whitelaw) is comedy gold it doesn't quite reach the heights of, say, fighting zombies to Don't Stop Me Now. It's still worth watching and definitely funnier than a lot of modern comedies (I'm looking at you, Vicious) but in comparison to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's first film it doesn't quite have the same sparkle to it.
Where Hot Fuzz does excel in comparison is in the action. The action sequences in this movie are amazing, especially the supermarket fight towards the film's end. The supermarket fight is both funny and exciting at the same time. There are also some extremely well-directed scenes by Edgar Wright, including Nicholas Angel's return to the village centre on-top a horse. Hot Fuzz is a film that blends the quirky and downright awesome well, appearing as an affectionate tribute to the buddy-cop genre rather than a mickey-take of it. The imagery of Nicholas Angel's 'action hero' look is something that I feel over time will be considered as iconic as Some Like It Hot's famous last line 'Well, nobody's perfect'. And that's the right word for it: perfect. It just seems right for the film's last act to see Nicholas resemble the kind of action star that Danny admires.
The revelation of the film's killer (or rather 'killers') is also very satisfactory. I love the twist that
. Essentially it is the film's village setting that is the real antagonist of the movie and it's this cleverness by the killer combination of Pegg, Frost and Wright that helps to set Hot Fuzz apart from other British comedies.
is quite literally the best way this film could end; tonally it feels on-par with the zombie invasion of Shaun and undeniably fits with the trademark oddball humour established with Simon Pegg's sitcom Spaced.
Of course, no film would be half as good without an excellent cast and Hot Fuzz's is among the best I've ever seen. Not only is Jim Broadbent in it but A-list British actors like David Bradley (who later appears in The World's End), Timothy Dalton, Olivia Colman and Stephen Merchant all appear. This is an outstanding cast and even though some only appear in cameos they deliver such incredible performances that showcase the best of British cinema. The fact that they even managed to get Timothy Dalton shows how respected Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's films are.
My only complaint about Hot Fuzz besides it not being as funny as Shaun of the Dead is that I would have liked to have seen Nick Frost's character introduced earlier into the film. He appears in the film's plot later than you would expect and it would have been nice had he already been a friend of Nicholas's living in Sandford rather than having them meet for the first time. It seems odd to have these characters develop their friendship during the film rather than Shaun of the Dead's decision to make them friends from the start. Maybe the decision behind returning to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's characters as already being friends in The World's Friend was as a result of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright feeling it didn't quite work with Hot Fuzz but I definitely prefer their friendship already being there.
Overall, Hot Fuzz may not be as funny as Shaun of the Dead but it is still a hilarious British comedy from the genius minds of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright. Where the film improves on Shaun is through the action sequences present in the film and the imagery that is certain to become iconic over time. The revelation of who the 'killer' is works extremely well and helps to contribute towards one of the comedy genre's best third acts. Hot Fuzz boasts one of the strongest British casts you can have, with the likes of Timothy Dalton and Jim Broadbent appearing throughout. It's unfortunate that they made the bizarre decision to introduce Nick Frost later into the film than expected and that when he does appear he isn't already a friend of Simon Pegg's character but it's not too detrimental to the film's quality. Hot Fuzz is definitely a film that's worth your time, just don't expect it to be better than Shaun of the Dead.
To me, the comedy pairing of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is the new Laurel and Hardy. In the same way that a Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy film would guarantee you a few laughs, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are like a cozy comedy blanket where you know by watching their movies you're going to have a good time. It's one of those rare pairings where it simply just works; even with a film like Paul (which I have yet to see) that received a mediocre reaction from critics the majority still agreed that the Pegg/Frost pair made it a fun watch. The second in the Cornetto trilogy, Hot Fuzz is highly regarded as one of their best comedy efforts to date. Many even claim it to be better than the excellent Shaun of the Dead although I'm not sure I necessarily agree.
In Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg plays metropolitan policeman Nicholas Angel who is promoted to sergeant and moved to a police department in the village of Sandford after the Chief inspector (Bill Nighy) decides he is too good at his job. There he is assigned police officer Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), son of the village's Chief Inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent), as his partner. Danny turns out to be useless and Nicholas quickly becomes tired of the small cases he has to deal with. When a number of villagers are murdered by a mysterious killer, Nicholas finds himself having to convince the police department that the deaths were not accidents in order to investigate and arrest the culprit.
Whilst Hot Fuzz has plenty of laughs, unlike the general consensus on this movie I didn't find myself laughing as much as I did with Shaun of the Dead. Yeah, the running joke with the escaped swan is funny and the crossword skit with Joyce Cooper (Billie Whitelaw) is comedy gold it doesn't quite reach the heights of, say, fighting zombies to Don't Stop Me Now. It's still worth watching and definitely funnier than a lot of modern comedies (I'm looking at you, Vicious) but in comparison to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's first film it doesn't quite have the same sparkle to it.
Where Hot Fuzz does excel in comparison is in the action. The action sequences in this movie are amazing, especially the supermarket fight towards the film's end. The supermarket fight is both funny and exciting at the same time. There are also some extremely well-directed scenes by Edgar Wright, including Nicholas Angel's return to the village centre on-top a horse. Hot Fuzz is a film that blends the quirky and downright awesome well, appearing as an affectionate tribute to the buddy-cop genre rather than a mickey-take of it. The imagery of Nicholas Angel's 'action hero' look is something that I feel over time will be considered as iconic as Some Like It Hot's famous last line 'Well, nobody's perfect'. And that's the right word for it: perfect. It just seems right for the film's last act to see Nicholas resemble the kind of action star that Danny admires.
The revelation of the film's killer (or rather 'killers') is also very satisfactory. I love the twist that
WARNING: spoilers below
the killers behind the villager's death is the cult of the local neighbourhood watch
Of course, no film would be half as good without an excellent cast and Hot Fuzz's is among the best I've ever seen. Not only is Jim Broadbent in it but A-list British actors like David Bradley (who later appears in The World's End), Timothy Dalton, Olivia Colman and Stephen Merchant all appear. This is an outstanding cast and even though some only appear in cameos they deliver such incredible performances that showcase the best of British cinema. The fact that they even managed to get Timothy Dalton shows how respected Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's films are.
My only complaint about Hot Fuzz besides it not being as funny as Shaun of the Dead is that I would have liked to have seen Nick Frost's character introduced earlier into the film. He appears in the film's plot later than you would expect and it would have been nice had he already been a friend of Nicholas's living in Sandford rather than having them meet for the first time. It seems odd to have these characters develop their friendship during the film rather than Shaun of the Dead's decision to make them friends from the start. Maybe the decision behind returning to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's characters as already being friends in The World's Friend was as a result of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright feeling it didn't quite work with Hot Fuzz but I definitely prefer their friendship already being there.
Overall, Hot Fuzz may not be as funny as Shaun of the Dead but it is still a hilarious British comedy from the genius minds of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright. Where the film improves on Shaun is through the action sequences present in the film and the imagery that is certain to become iconic over time. The revelation of who the 'killer' is works extremely well and helps to contribute towards one of the comedy genre's best third acts. Hot Fuzz boasts one of the strongest British casts you can have, with the likes of Timothy Dalton and Jim Broadbent appearing throughout. It's unfortunate that they made the bizarre decision to introduce Nick Frost later into the film than expected and that when he does appear he isn't already a friend of Simon Pegg's character but it's not too detrimental to the film's quality. Hot Fuzz is definitely a film that's worth your time, just don't expect it to be better than Shaun of the Dead.