Hot Fuzz

At a time when zombie films were all the rage, the team behind hit UK sitcom Spaced introduced a fresh take on the undead with the "rom-zom-com” Shaun of the Dead. An unexpected hit filled with as many belly laughs as bites, the film established director/writer Edgar Wright, actor/writer Simon Pegg and actor Nick Frost as a comedic force with a gift for anglicising any genre. In search of another unconventional British theme, Wright and Pegg binged on 200 cop flicks in search of inspiration and developed Hot Fuzz, a new kind of buddy cop action flick. Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is the greatest "bobby” London’s ever seen; he’s so great that he’s making the London Police Service look bad. As a result, he’s begrudgingly shipped off to the countryside where he will serve as a sergeant in an ideal little town. But Angel can see cracks in this utopia beyond the pestering "living statue” and "hoodie infestation.” After a series of "accidents,” he recruits plump, dim-witted partner Danny (Frost) to help uncover what is in fact a bizarre serial murdering spree. To uphold the law and establish order, Angel and Danny look to the heroes in Point Break and Bad Boys II, breaking out their weaponry to off the bad guys and send Hot Fuzz into a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants finale. References to every clichéd cop flick and childhood cops’n’robbers fantasy are exploited, and Wright uses abrupt jump cuts, a breakneck narrative pace and repeated twists to keep the viewer in the zone. The cast of familiar faces, including an impressive list of cameos, adds a nice touch, with Timothy Dalton’s glib supermarket owner and Edward Woodward’s passionate neighbourhood watchman stealing the show. Hot Fuzz is a hilarious, high-octane ride that again injects new life into British cinema. As fans expected, it does everything for the blockbuster/buddy cop/action flick that Shaun did for the oversaturated zombie flick — and more. (Alliance Atlantis)