Hot Fuzz - Directed by Edgar Wright
Rated R for violent content including some graphic images, and language.

The follow up to writer/director pair Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's 2004 cult smash Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz brings back the duo's signature 'Spaced'-out humor and does for buddy cop flicks what Shaun did for zombies.

In Hot Fuzz, London super-cop Nick Angel (Pegg) is forced into taking a transfer to a small town precinct after all of the other metro officers on the force (or service, I should say...it sounds less aggressive) accuse him of making them all look bad. There, he is teamed up with country bumpkin Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) who is only a cop because "It's what my dad does." But before long, the team finds themselves knee-deep in a murder mystery.

Because so much of the advertising campaign for Hot Fuzz involves comparing it to Shaun of the Dead, let's see just how well it stacks up:

If you in any way, shape, or form found enjoyment out of Shaun, you're more than likely going to find more of it in Fuzz. Pegg and Wright's signature humor remains entirely intact, with witty dialog and sitcom-esque gags bearing the bulk of the load in the funny department. And, just as with Shaun, Hot Fuzz is so jam packed with movie and pop culture references that action film fanboy's will think they died and went to violence heaven.

The humor is still rather British, complex in a way that it is often easy to miss. For the most part, its the kind of inside funniness that, while maybe not inducing uncontrollable belly laughs, will keep you in a constant state of grins and giggles for most of Fuzz's 2 hours plus runtime. And don't worry, the trailers didn't even scratch the surface as far as spoiling all of the good jokes (though expect the few they do show to fall pretty flat).

As far as pacing is concerned, it shares a similarly mixed bag with Shaun. Although less dramatic than Shaun's mid-way switch from romantic comedy to horror film, Fuzz's third act takes the film's up until then groundedness into a whole new level of zany. The nearly 2 hours it takes getting there seemed to drag at a couple points, but the extravagant finale is well worth the wait.

Bottom line, Hot Fuzz is a top-notch British comedy as well as an entertaining, living homage to all things action. A must-see for Shaun or Spaced fans, I'd recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in chasing cars and firing 2 guns while jumping through the air. It may not be quite as good as Shaun of the Dead, but I'd say it comes pretty dang close.

Rating: 5 /5

~khyron, 2007