Pace Paw Print

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Hot Fuzz, the action/comedy movie made by Simon Pegg and Edgar White, creators of 2004's horror spoof, Shaun of the Dead, pays homage to American action movies such as Bad Boys 2 and Point Break.

In the movie, Pegg plays police officer Nicholas Angel of the London Metropolitan Police. Exceptionally good at his job, Angel is reassigned to the peaceful and crime-free village of Sandford because he makes everyone else look bad by comparison.

Once in Sandford, he is paired up with Constable Danny Butterman, the bumbling detective to Angel's hardboiled detective. Angel starts off appearing paranoid when he sees crimes being committed everywhere he looks despite what everyone in the town says, including various accidents. This part of the story takes up most of the movie, until the third act when the big plot twist happens and the action part of the movie intensifies.

The first act is mostly jokes about Angel being out of his element and jokes are made about him feeling awkward about it. The second act is more of mystery thriller like Silence of the Lambs or Zodiac. The third act, which is the shortest act, is the part that is direct homage of action movies, with big gunfights, car chases, and lines taken directly from other movies. It is not a spoof of action movies; it takes it self very seriously, despite a few bad jokes it makes along the way.

The film is billed as a comedy, but it is not that funny. It has a few chuckle moments, but no deep belly laughs. It tries to carry itself as lighthearted with Nick Frost's character always acting silly and the townsfolk playing up the oversweet, small town charm that townsfolk are supposed to have.

Angel, however, is entertaining to watch as he runs around getting exasperated by Sandford. Butterman's bumbling actions and simple, friendly attitude are more endearing than annoying. Even though it is a comedy, it has moments that are very tense, even scary at times. There was at least one time when the entire audience in the theater screamed out in surprise.

The actual action part is really enjoyable, having some of the funnier moments in the film, usually involving over the top moments of violence. It takes a couple of lines from other action movies, but the delivery is less than stellar.

The story itself is only so-so. The mystery thriller part of the story, which takes up most of the plot, is not that good. Some clues are incredibly obvious, while others go by so quickly that they are impossible to catch.

The editing is unusual. There are a lot of times when the camera likes to shift back and forth between multiple images. Things like cutting between beer being poured, the bartender, and people at the bar, or cutting between Angel's face and the paper he reads.

It is all a little gratuitous, and really jarring, making the whole movie feel like it rushed by quickly. It continues from the pure comedy bit of the first act, to the mystery part of the second act.

There the switching back and forth fits a bit better, with the different parts of the crimes being shown. In the third act, where everyone is shooting at everyone else and it is hard to follow everything; all the switching angles fit perfectly. If only they left the excessive cutting for the third act, then it would be more enjoyable.

Overall, it is a good movie. It does not have a lot of funny moments, but it makes up for that by having a lot of exciting, scary, butt-kicking moments, even a couple of sweet moments to satisfy anyone. But anyone who wants a light, relaxing spoof is out of luck. The movie is set for a limited release in America, so if you don't want to wait for the DVD you better go see it now.

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