Film

Hot Fuzz

Paul Cook 02/03/2007

Rating: 4/5

It would be an embellishment to say this film is jam-packed with jokes because it isn't, just as Shaun of the Dead was not an out-and-out film of hilarity. Hot Fuzz however, is a hugely clever and sharp film of subtle, satire and parody. Contrastingly eccentric action sequences draw upon numerous influences and typically skewed, abstract Pegg mentality: end up flavouring a good film with exceptional instances of humour.

After literally striking Hollywood gold and international acclaim with 'Shaun of the Dead', Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright, Hot Fuzz's architect's of satire and dreamlike parodies have effectively exploited a Hollywood budget to create this grand-scale vision of what British police drama could, nay should be like. The results are quite astonishing; the product is a 2-hour rollick of shotgun-wielding lunacy in which the audience are hammered into submission with a force of jokes and gags before being driven back into their seats by amazing what-British-action-films-should-look-like special effects and action sequences.

A sparkling success of the film is what it has managed to copy from its influences. References to Bad Boys II and Point Blank are particularly entertaining, Nick Frost delivering stunningly funny jokes, puns and gags, not to mention simple but joyously effective visual gags such as eating a Cornetto whilst in high speed pursuit.

Only a handful of writers manage to write such topical and intricate gags that have an entire audience in rapturous, uncontrollable laughter. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg are on the brink, peering into an unfortunately under populated hall of fame in this field. Hot Fuzz is a credible addition to an already acclaimed body of work and with financial backing seeming to make no difference to the success of their films, Pegg, Wright and Frost will almost certainly be important contributors to this expanding area of British film.