REVIEW: HOT FUZZ
REVIEW: EDGAR WRIGHT [ 2007 ] 121'
REVIEW: ROGUE PICTURES
CAST: SIMON PEGG, NICK FROST,
CAST: TIMOTHY DALTON, JIM BROADBENT
PERSONAL RATING:
CRITICAL RATING:
WTF-FILMOMETER: THE LUNATIC IS IN THE FUZZ

By the power of Greyskull!

It was just after nine in the evening and both myself and my girlfriend had just finished watching ENTER THE DRAGON [1973]. With nothing promising on the tube I turned to the local paper and, instinctively, checked to see what was playing at the local cinemas. SPIDERMAN 3 premiered that night and, while I had interest in seeing it, I had no interest in the hordes of people who would be heading off to see it opening night. Scrolling down the list of what was playing at the Savoy 16, I took special note of a title towards the end of the list. It had a 10:00 PM showing coming up and, considering SPIDERMAN 3 was showing on no fewer than 5 of the cinema's screens, I doubted it would be terribly busy.

So of we went.

I never go to the cinema - odd, perhaps, given that film is what this site is devoted to - in large part due to the lack of worthwhile films playing in it and the inordinate cost of things. Two tickets to HOT FUZZ ran a total of $16.50 - outrageous to say the least. The theater lobby was filled with entangled lines of people - several hundred in all - the vast majority of whom were awaiting entry to the latest Sam Raimi blockbuster. The two of us waited patiently for these lines to subside and then entered cinema number 10. Pathetically mastered commercials for local sheet metal companies were being digitally projected to the audience - all six of them at the time of our entry - and we moved to the center of the fourth row of seats from the front of the screen to wait.

It wasn't long before the commercials gave way to useless pop film trivia and the cinema chain's warnings about having active cellphones and annoying kids in the cinema. Followed by that, naturally, were the previews for coming attractions. There were several for what look to be light comedies - all of which looked like they would be amusing, if not terribly noteworthy in their own right. The one that did manage to catch me off guard was for the upcoming release of 28 WEEKS LATER. I'd seen the brief television spots for this sequel to the superior action / horror film 28 DAYS LATER and had been hardly impressed by them - the longer theatrical trailer let on to more of the store and shows that the film certainly has a lot of unexpected potential. We'll see if it lives up to that some other day.

It wasn't long before the logos for Rogue Pictures and Working Title Films graced the screen and I was whisked, mercilessly, into the ridiculously fantastic world of HOT FUZZ. Within seconds the $16.50 paid to the cinema to see the film was forgotten - it took my sitting to write this review for me to remember it. Having seen the film and had time to reflect briefly on it, I can't say that the purchase will ever be in the least bit regretted.

Nicholas Angel is good at what he does. Excelling in every conceivable area of police training, he's made more arrests in his time with the London Metropolitan police than anyone else and is almost single-handedly responsible for the gross reduction in crime. Upper management sees his exemplary nature as a threat to the mediocrity of the rest of the force and, to keep him from making them look bad, send him to be the new Sargent of the rural community of Sandford. Seemingly uneventful, the town is kept under the careful surveillance of the Neighborhood Watch Association - a group of older people belonging to various levels of the small-town society.

Initially at wits end and saddled with the young Danny Butterman - an officer who's only interest seems to lie in asking Angel what various things he has or hasn't done in his time with the Metropolitan police - it isn't long before strange happenings begin to catch Nick's attention. The owner of the local grocery speaks continually in homicidal imagery - "I'm a slasher... of prices! My discounts are criminal!" - and the local pub seems to have no concern for serving underage alcoholics. The local children are less concerned with Angel's presentation on what it's like to be on the force than in dressing up in hoodies and lacing various landmarks with graffiti.

Then begin the accidents.

When two local stage actors - having just performed a bastardized rendition of Romeo and Juliet - are found to have seemingly lost control of their car and lost their heads in doing so, Angel begins to suspect fowl play. Suspicions are raised again when a local tycoon and resident drunkard is burned to death when a gas explosion levels his million dollar home. The resident police inspector makes light of the accidents and the rest of the police force do the same, leaving Angel to his thoughts on the incidents. On the day of Danny's birthday, Angel heads to the florist to purchase him a peace lily. While walking to his squad car with the gift he witnesses the gruesome death of the shop-keeper and gives chase to a strange black-cloaked figure fleeing the shop, only to lose him in the farmland surrounding the town.

No one in the local police dispatch believes his story and his allegations against the grocer are safely laid to rest by surveillance videos, but something still doesn't feel right. After an attempt on his life by yet another cloaked figure, Angel takes things into his own hands. He follows a radio message to a historical castle, only to discover that the Neighborhood Watch Association is far from what it seems. This leads to a conclusion that pulls out all the stops and quite simply has to be seen to be believed.

Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have done it again, and quite possibly better, with HOT FUZZ. Paying homage to everything from soapy British crime dramas and mysteries to the over-the-top action extravaganzas of 80's and 90's America - and to a number of genres in between - the film still manages to stand perfectly well on its own merits even when treading in the territory of Peckinpah and the like. Indeed, the film itself is beautifully executed and, despite its derivative nature, manages to become one of the finest mystery / thriller / comedy / action films to date. If you've seen the movies and shows that the film takes such pride in parodying then your experience will no doubt be heightened - but even if you haven't I can honestly say that you'll enjoy it. The ending quarter of the film alone is worth the overpriced admission.

Much like their previous collaboration SHAUN OF THE DEAD - which doesn't escape parody here either - this film manages to take what could have been an empty premise like the SCARY MOVIE franchise and manages to turn it into something intelligent, thoughtful, engrossing, and - above all else - positively hysterical. Farmers, bolognese, sea mines, and swans all come together in near perfect harmony here to create one of the most enjoyable films this reviewer has ever seen. My sincerest recommendation is that those of you who haven't seen it do so... now... while this is still available in the cinemas. I have no doubt that it will still be enjoyable on the small screen, but the bigger you can see the conclusion the better!