Hot Fuzz

Review by Loc

It’s hard to find the right balance between homage and parody. Too much of one, you get horrible rip-offs that don’t do much of anything. Too much parody and you get Scary Movie 15, not worth anyone’s time. And maybe that’s what the filmmakers are going for, horrible, horrible drek that barely entertains but does succeed in destroying brain cells. So what is Hot Fuzz, a movie that blatantly claims to the product of watching “every action movie ever”? Quick hit: this is one flick that found that perfect balance.

Hot Fuzz is the follow-up by the team of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. These are the two who brought you Shaun of the Dead, the zombie-flick send-up that everyone loved so much. What comes after zombies? Action-thrillers! Yup, Hot Fuzz takes the best clichés of action movies and pays homage in great, great ways. Then it takes the worst clichés of the genre and mocks them with brutal honesty. And that combination is frighteningly pure-genius.

Take the overused MTV, quick-cuts, those CSI-rock-blaring transitions that are so useless it makes you wonder which music-video director flunky came up with the damn thing so you can smite them from the planet. Well, Hot Fuzz feels the same way, mocking them mercilessly with unnecessary cut-scenes for every criminal booking in the film.

They even take a step further, literally referencing two horrible action classics, those cheese-tastic romps that are overwhelmingly endearing to any action junkie. Not only to they have characters seemingly entranced by the most cheesiest moments in those films, when presented with the opportunity to reenact those pivotal moments, our characters never fail to disappoint. Pure. Genius.

But beyond the parody, they pay homage to the action genre. Without apologies, without remorse, Hot Fuzz sets up the most ridiculous gun battles, foot chases, and close combat scenes, then pulls the trigger on every one of them. Crazy gun exchange where unlimited ammo is just a fact of life, check. Bizarre mass-murder killings that telegraph the anticipated murderer, check. Everything is there, and nothing feels shoehorned in. For a flick that plays up its indifference, it hits on every action beat with effortlessness.

Acting performances are quite solid. Co-writer Simon Pegg steps in as the hard-nosed, by-the-book badass Sergeant Nicholas Angel. Pegg plays the role well, not much tongue-in-cheekiness, more the straight-man to the entire films comedy. The other notable performance is Nick Frost as Danny Butterman. He’s the comic sidekick to Pegg’s straight-man, often providing the key moments of surreal humor that break the bank.

Overall, Hot Fuzz is a fun romp. It manages to hit on most cylinders most of the time. However, the film itself has inherent limitations that make it difficult to ascend to pure greatness. By mocking and playing up the genre it’s dedicated to, Hot Fuzz manages great laughs and great moments. But, it never reaches out to become its own signature flick, limiting its potential greatness and settling at very goodness. Out of 5 grisly and “mysterious” murders, Hot Fuzz nails 3.5 suspects. Goodness. Very goodness.