Review of Hot Fuzz (2007) by Harry W — 20 Feb 2015

Being Edgar Wright's follow up to the awesome horror-comedy Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz sounded hilarious.

I'm going to be blunt: Hot Fuzz is one of the funniest films ever made in history. After directing an awesome horror-comedy hybrid on Shaun of the Dead, Edgar Wright manages to one up himself by taking on a mix of action and comedy, particularly the buddy cop genre. With an utmost passion for the genre which matches my own, Edgar Wright manages to direct Hot Fuzz to extents that are beyond imagination. Not only is Hot Fuzz a hilarious parody of the action genre, but it is also legitimately one of the greatest action films of the 2000's decade. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's screenplay continuously points towards the influence over this film by referencing such over the top action films as Point Break and Bad Boys II in the screenplay and then even mimicking certain scenes from those films. With intricate plotting, Hot Fuzz cleverly implements one of the key plot points from Point Break into its narrative in a way which is smart without being derivative while it borrows an iconic cinematography technique from Bad Boys II. The film is so proud of this that it clearly showcases both the films it borrows the elements from in the exact scenes and the way that it puts them into the narrative. It is brilliant, and all the action choreography does the same. Hot Fuzz succeeds as a parody of itself and a legitimate action film of its own right, a balance which Edgar Wright fearlessly reaches without even the slightest flinch. His directorial work is some of the most refreshing to ever come across the genre, so he proves without a doubt on Hot Fuzz that he is one of the greatest directors of modern day.

The screenplay in Hot Fuzz is just brilliant. With a lot of legitimately realistic language at the base of the film, the serious nature of Hot Fuzz is not hard to see. But the humour in the film is incredibly more impressive. Tackling a police thriller concept, Hot Fuzz follows its story with tenacious dedication before making twists and turns which are unlike any other viewers will have ever had the pleasure of experiencing before. Only Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg would be able to plot such a ridiculous the story with the brilliance and detail to make it come off as being legitimate, and to add to it the dialogue in the film is of Academy Award calibre humour. While much of the language in the film is crude and uses swearing to instigate laughs, it is never excessive. It is moderated flawlessly over the course of the film to the point that it only comes in when laughs are a certainty. The script in Hot Fuzz is hilarious from start to finish, giving the film great characters and dialogue to match with the absurd nature of the story which flawlessly lines up with the cast. I cannot fully describe just how perfect the screenplay is, how versatile the use of crude language is and how it sets up plenty of humourous moments built strictly on the basis of the visual imagery in Hot Fuzz. But the highlight of the screenplay comes into play towards the end of the film during its action climax. With essentially every enemy that is taken down, Simon Pegg or Nick Frost deliver a hilarious one-liner iconic of action films from the 1980's. The nostalgia in this almost made me cry for joy and piss my pants with laughter at the same time, and every time I watch Hot Fuzz it just manages to get funnier. In my opinion, the best one-liner comes into play when Nicholas "Nick" Angel and Danny Butterman disable Dr. Robin Hatcher, only for Nicholas Angel to say "You're a doctor! Deal with it" which Danny Butterman follows up with "Yeah mother*cker". It is just brilliant.

When it comes to being an action film, the choreography is the kind that modern filmmaking has forgotten about. Against the backdrop of a tense and atmospheric musical score, Hot Fuzz unfolds all kinds of impressive action scenes which use blood and gore in a cleverly satirical manner. But the action itself is strong mainly because of the creative chorography and clever stunts performed, as well as a collection of hilariously different ways the heroes of the story disable the enemies. Hot Fuzz makes use of car chases, debris and police officers jumping through the air and shooting two guns at once as a source of the versatility in the action, and there is never a moment when it doesn't pay off. And for potentially the first time in action film history, nearly none of the enemies are killed. In a more realistic path, the antagonists in Hot Fuzz are mostly just given severe wounds which disable them before they are arrested and the police officers have to incur the abundance of paperwork that comes with the arrests. Hot Fuzz just keeps on dolling out the humour.

And the cast of Hot Fuzz are an absolutely flawless collection of cast members.

Simon Pegg is beyond belief in Hot Fuzz. I say this because of how seriously he takes the role alongside how much he succeeds at making viewers laugh. In terms of tackling the role of Nicholas "Nick" Angel, Simon Pegg absolutely spearheads the role by going for it with a flawless sense of aggression. He balances his heroic anger with a sense of professionalism so the role he plays is essentially the ideal police officer archetype, and he cleverly uses that to deliver every one liner he has in the film with rich tension in the character. He plays both a legitimate action hero and a parody of one, spearheading the comedy and drama in Hot Fuzz with flawless effort. And when the action scenes weigh down on him, Simon Pegg is able to capture the energy for the part with expertise. He performs his stunts very well and grips his weapons with incredible confidence. Simon Pegg gets himselfin on the stunts very well in Hot Fuzz, and his blend of legitimate character focus and comedy is like a mix of Leslie Nielsen and Chuck Norris. Simon Pegg gives a career-best performance in Hot Fuzz, and his chemistry with the surrounding cast is flawless.

Nick Frost is the funniest aspect of the film though. Serving as the central source of comic relief in the story, Nick Frost fits the role of his archetype very easily. With a heavyset frame and a British accent, he fits the profile easily on the surface. But more impressively, he actually manages to do a lot with the role. Of course, the highlight of his role in the film comes from the fact that he really plays Danny Butterman as a buffoon paired up with a genius, proudly using the idiocy of the role to act like an idiot in all kinds of situations. As the story goes on and the chemistry between him and Simon Pegg develops, Hot Fuzz gets more touching because the bond they share is touching without being overly melodramatic or sentimental. He develops the character really well and takes the drama of the story on very well while never stepping out of the buffoonish nature of his character. He is likable, he is ridiculously funny and as the film would later go on to prove, he is effective as an action hero. Nick Frost once again makes a hilarious duo with Simon Pegg, giving Hot Fuzz the perfect leading duo.

Timothy Dalton also delivers a memorable effort. In one of his finest performances in years, Timothy Dalton makes a really suspicious character out of Simon Skinner. He has a really shifty smile to him and a tone of voice which is sophisticated but suspect, giving him a good edge for the role. Jim Broadbent also takes a nice turn in Hot Fuzz. He manages to make himself a likable character for much of the film only to turn it all around.

Tony Fisher and Rafe Spall make a funny duo, Olivia Colman has some good moments and Karl Johnson's few scenes in the film are subtle but really funny.

The cameos of Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan, Stephen Merchant, Bill Nighy, Bill Bailey, Peter Jackson and Cate Blanchett are also a nice touch.

So thanks to a perfect pair of leading performances from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost coupled with an incredibly original screenplay and expert direction from Edgar Wright, Hot Fuzz is a perfect combination of action and comedy which is one of the funniest films ever made.