Hot Fuzz

Edgar Wright, UK/France, 2007, 121 minutes

The second of the Simon Pegg/Edgar Wright/Nick Frost visual feasts, Hot Fuzz follows Shaun of the Dead, this time their homage to all those cop films we love to hate (and love).

Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is the best officer in the Met. However, he's a bit too good - and finds himself transferred to the countryside, a quaint little village in Gloucestershire. Upon meeting the villagers, who are a tightly knit community who pride themselves on keeping the best village (it's won village of the year i don't know how many times). When a series of grisly accidents are viewed by Angel as murder, he begins to uncover what he sees as a conspiracy - whilst the rest of the force, barring Danny Butterman (Frost), see Angel as going crazy with the slow pace of village life.

Is it murder? If so, who is responsible? And what's the connection? It's a whodunnit which would make Agatha Christie proud, and manages to tip a nod to far too many cop films, murder mysteries and action movies to count. Once again Wright and Pegg have delivered a hilarious film which appeals to both the Spaced/Shaun of the Dead fans and the cop movie fans - and is still enjoyable across generations (if my house is anything to go by). If you haven't seen their work yet, I'd be amazed. However, this is your opportunity to put that right. If you have seen their stuff before, I guess you didn't bother reading this, as you're already going.

Review by Niko Ovenden
Written for EUFS Programme Autumn 2007