Hot Fuzz is the second film in the Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright
‘ice cream and blood’ trilogy, and follows much the same pattern as Shaun of the Dead except there is a totally different storyline. In Hot Fuzz, Nicholas
Angel is a dedicated and hard working police officer who is sent to the
countryside village of Sandford. Here two different worlds collide and Angel
uncovers a village-wide murderous rampage all motivated by a desire to win the
Village of the Year Award.
It sounds pretty funny already doesn't it? It is quite difficult
to know whether or not to describe it as a sequel. It has many of the same
running jokes as were in Shaun of the Dead, such as crossing gardens by jumping
over fences and the ‘do you want anything from the shop’ line. However the completely
different storyline makes it more of a second collaboration than a sequel. With
several of the same actors and actresses from Shaun of the Dead making a
re-appearance in various roles, this is definitely a very similar film to Shaun
of the Dead. However, it is good because it avoids following the same pattern
too exactly. While there are obvious similarities, they are incorporated into
the film rather than being relied upon.
So once again Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are hilarious in their
role as best friends. Simon Pegg is the hardworking Nicholas Angel who finds
the policing methods used in the countryside completely foreign to him. Nick
Frost is the young police officer in Sandford who tries to help Nicholas switch
off once in a while. Their onscreen chemistry is as perfect as it was in Shaun
of the Dead and as I mentioned in the last post, this can only be aided by the
fact that they are so close offscreen.
However, for me this film isn’t as focused on Pegg and Frost in
the same way that Shaun of the Dead was. Hot Fuzz focuses more on the
supporting cast who play a bigger role than previously. Jim Broadbent plays
Inspector Frank Butterman, who is leading the murderous rampage in Sandford. As
ever, he is thoroughly enjoyable in this role, and delivers his more comedic
lines with a serious and deadpan manner which makes them much more amusing.
There are a number of other actors and actresses who play the residents of
Sandford who you swear you have seen before somewhere. The most notable of these
is Anne Reid, who has appeared in quite a lot of television series. I was
astounded to find out that Simon Skinner was played by Timothy Dalton, who I
just did not recognise from his James Bond days. I haven’t seen much else that
he has been in since Bond, and so was pleasantly surprised to see him in the
cast. I also loved Olivia Colman in this film. She is such a versatile actress
and seems capable of adapting her style to perfectly suit the role she is in.
As with Shaun of the Dead, a lot of the quality of Hot Fuzz can be
found in the writing and direction, which Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright excel at
for a film of this type. Instead of a Hollywood blockbuster which tries to seep
laughs out of the audience, Hot Fuzz (and Shaun of the Dead) feel like two
films that are simply the work of Pegg and Wright enjoying themselves with a
series of actors and actresses.
Hot Fuzz is much more gruesome than Shaun of the Dead in many
ways, and although there are some pretty grim scenes in Shaun of the Dead, you sort
of expect it because it is a Zombie film. With Hot Fuzz, the blood is more
spread out, and comes in much higher quantities. The scene where the segment of
the church roof falls onto Tim Messenger is the most gruesome of the film, and
yet the script writing for the film makes this potentially disturbing scene
into a good laugh for the audience.
In much the same way as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz seems to
engage the audience. You find yourself entirely captivated by the story you are
presented with and cannot help but enjoy yourself as you watch it. It is a film
in a very similar mould to Shaun of the Dead, but it stands as an individual
film as well because it is quite different. It is no less funny than Shaun of
the Dead though, and if you liked Shaun of the Dead and haven’t seen Hot Fuzz
then I strongly suggest that you do before you see The World’s End.
You may also like:
Shaun of the Dead - http://mattsthoughtsonmovies.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/shaun-of-dead.html
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