(2007, 121 min) If you think you know what Hot Fuzz is going in, you're probably wrong. The easy answer is to call it a spoof of '80s action buddy movies, but like Adaptation before, it also wholeheartedly becomes the very movie it spoofs... right down to its 121-minute running time, and its creation of an irresistible new catchphrase ("Yarp"). The presence of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost ensures a steady stream of droll British humor, while the direction of Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) leaves plenty of room for shockingly gory violence. Hot Fuzz is simultaneously very familiar, and unlike anything you've seen... and it puts most of the American franchises to shame.
Pegg plays the prototypical tough cop. Perhaps he's a bit too eager to use his gun, but he always gets his man. He's so good at his job that he's showing up the rest of the crew in his London office, and earns himself a "promotion" to the sleepy town of Sandford, where crime is nonexistent. This brings to mind the old adage that the safest place to be is in a restaurant with a mob boss. Surely there's something sinister to uncover; does anyone trust Timothy Dalton nowadays?
The plot is a most elaborate macguffin, a mere excuse to shower the screen with blood and guts at the most hilariously unexpected moments. But like any good buddy movie, the entertainment is propelled by Pegg's pairing with his new portly, dim but action-starved partner, played by the utterly delightful Frost. (Their character names of Nick Angel and Danny Butterman are priceless.) The best aspect of their relationship is their emulation of Point Break... note to reader: this would make a most excellent double feature. Fans of guilty pleasure '80s cop movies should make this a must-see. The question is, after dismantling this genre as well as the zombie movie, what's next for this immensely talented team?
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2 comments:
Rumor has it that Wright is working on an Ant Man adaptation... not sure if the others are involved but I know he's working on a script.
Yeah Spock, I kind of phrased that "what's next" rhetorically because I couldn't find a solid answer. The latest news on IMDB said that Ant-Man is in a "holding pattern", but that's also fairly old information. If he does do this Marvel adaptation, I assume it would be PG-13. Wonder what a restrained Edgar Wright film would look like? Or would it be a hard R like Punisher?
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