Review: Hot Fuzz

There's a reason that I love British comedy; it's often more thoughtful and deep than the American equivalent. The creative team of Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost in particular have produced two (so far) of the best comedies, in my opinion, ever made – Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Both are powerful, well-crafted stories that are not only hilarious but act as a fun, bloody satire on a particular genre.

            The funnies in Hot Fuzz are more subtle than in its predecessor. This film takes on the genres of Murder Mystery and then Action, and succeeds brilliantly at both while injecting some of their characteristic charm. Shaun of the Dead's popularity also means that it is stuffed full of big names, from Jim Broadbent to former Bond Timothy Dalton.

            Most of the humour is derived from the absurdity of the setting and characters, but there's also a lot of sarcasm and irony. Most jokes are also referenced throughout the movie and run parallel to the plot, which in itself is strong.

            Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is the best officer in London; so good, in fact, that his superiors (Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy) send him off the country for making the rest of the team look bad. He becomes Sergeant in the small, idealist town of Sandford, which is controlled by the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance. While the subtly controlling Chief Inspector Butterman (Jim Broadbent) and his naïve son Danny (Nick Frost) insist that the village has the lowest crime rate in the country, a series of deaths alerts Nicholas to the possibility that the village isn't all it seems.

            Fuzz manages to make the rare accomplishment of combining gags and plot in one fluid motion – there isn't a single scene that doesn't later pay off somehow, and the twists and turns that the story takes, as well as the literally explosive changes in tone, make it a both funny and thrilling ride.

Thanks.