HOT FUZZ: The English version of Bad Boys
Written: Apr 21 '07 (Updated Apr 22 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Most of the things
Cons: One or two minor things
The Bottom Line: This is definitely one of the funniest films of the year and I highly urge you to watch this!
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| cripper's Full Review: Hot Fuzz |
I realise that I start off a lot of my writings here at Epinions by saying that I wanted to watch a certain film or movie but was not entirely sure what drew me to watch it. Again, Hot Fuzz is another film that, for some reason, I had intended to see but was not entirely sure why I wanted to see it. Simon Pegg, who stars and wrote the script for this film, previously wrote Shaun of the Dead which I was not particularly keen on. Anyway I did end up watching this film and am very glad to have watched this gem.
The film starts off with Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg), who is the perfect cop having won many accolades as a police officer and arresting significantly more criminals than any other police officer in the mean streets of London. It therefore shocks Sergeant Angel when he discovers that he has been transferred to the quiet town of Sandford. He finds out that he is only being transferred because many police officers are jealous of his success as a police officer. To make matters worse, Sandford is a quiet town out in the countryside in England which disturbs the sergeant. The level of quietness in Sandford only makes Sergeant Angel feel more uneasy just as much as his new bumbling partner, Police Constable Danny Butterman (Nicholas Frost) does. Despite the fact there seems to be no crime in the "best town in England", a series of mysterious deaths have made Sergeant Angel suspicious as to whether this is a crime-free town. Even though all the other officers at the Sandford police station laugh off suggestions that these deaths could be murders, Sergeant Angel is determined to find out what actually is happening in Sandford.
I think one of the reasons I enjoyed this film so much is the fact that this film makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is parodising cop comedy-thrillers. The various references to Point Break and Bad Boys II are there for the audience to see and even if you have not watched either of these films, one will quickly grasp the references throughout the film. Even the slowed down camera shots of cops flying in the air while shooting criminals is used at the end of the film and again, refers to Bad Boys II amongst other films in the cop comedy-thriller genre. The questions constantly asked by Police Constable Butterman to the mundane, straight-laced Sergeant Angel if he has shot criminals while flying through the air a la Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in Bad Boys II also makes for some very funny dialogue.
I also like how Angel waters down Butterman's high hopes when he cites references to various policies and procedures that the police officers must adhere to and introducing the idea of filing paperwork after crimes are committed to the police officers. Butterman, along with the other officers at Sandford, cannot comprehend the idea that police officers must file paper work and follow certain policies and procedures. This only leave Sergeant Angel in more shock whilst Butterman seems surprised that Angel does not seem to know what he is talking about when he refers to cops flying in the air while shooting criminals or to chasing criminals in high car speed chases.
The interaction between Butterman and Sergeant Angel is definitely one of the film's highlights. They are like a modern day Odd Couple and it is interesting to see how the relationship between Angel and Butterman unfolds. It starts off on really shaky ground when Angel arrests Butterman for drinking whilst under the influence and it shocks Angel that Butterman is actually a policeman and that someone as unintelligent as Butterman has ended up on the police force. Angel also quickly gets irritated by Butterman's idea of a cop in the city is the Will Smith/Martin Lawrence cop portrayed in Bad Boys II and its clear Butterman does not have the same interest in plants that Angel does. Even though they lack any common interests, their relationship does grow and you start to enjoy their friendship in one another (so much so that Angel does end up watching Bad Boys II and Point Break in an inebriated state).
The script is very cleverly written. The writers come up with some very clever puns throughout the film (who would have thought that there would be a Mr. P. I. Staker in Sandford?). Another aspect of the script that I liked was that it was never ridiculously over-the-top. I find that with a lot of comedies these days, writers try to come up with a lot of visual gags that are too far-fetched and unrealistic to even laugh at (i.e. look at any of the films from the Scary Movie or Police Academy frachise). The gags, whilst nonsensical, are not too unrealistic and the gags that do take place in the film are the types that you think will not happen to anyone but actually do happen (one I can think of is when a guy calls the police to report a missing swan which may seem preposterous but not preposterous enough to be too far-fetched). The film also has what I think is the best gag I have ever seen involving a crossword puzzle.
Having such a great script to work off, the actors are able to pull off their characters brilliantly. Simon Pegg characterises the straight Sergeant Angel perfectly. Having written the script, Pegg understands the nuances of his character. I feel that the straight character in a comedy is usually the hardest character to play but Pegg nails it. Nicholas Frost is also excellent as Sergeant Angel's bumbling sidekick Police Constable Butterman. Frost portrays Butterman as an overgrown kid and when I say an overgrown kid, I mean an overgrown kid. From his facial expressions to his mannerisms to the way he composes himself in the workplace, he has the term "big kid" written all over him. One also feels a connection to Butterman and I started to grow fond of him because he is the loveable oaf. As for the supporting characters, many popular British actors make appearances in this film. Timothy Dalton plays Simon Skinner, the owner of the local supermarket in Sandford, and his portrayal of Skinner as being somewhat sleazy suits the film perfectly. Jim Broadbent's portrayal as the indifferent Inspector Butterman (who happens to be Police Constable Butterman's father) is also perfect for the film. Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy make a brief cameo appearance at the beginning of the film as Angel's seniors at the Metro Police in London that send him off packing to Sandford.
The director and joint writer of Shaun of the Dead, Edgar Wright, returns to direct Hot Fuzz and he does a great job with the film. The film is scattered with various gags and jokes and this managed to keep me engaged throughout the film even though there were one or two moments where the momentum and pace of the film slowed down a bit. But similar to what I said about Pegg understanding how to play the character of Angel, it is clear that Wright understands how the film needed to be directed as he was the one who co-wrote the script with Pegg. To me, this is why the film succeeds as Wright does very well to accentuate and highlight those truly funny scenes of the film.
Hot Fuzz is one of the most entertaining and funniest films of the year. I highly recommend each and every one of you to see this film. In all honesty, I am somewhat surprised that this film is not out in the U.S. yet as this has hit big in the U.K. and in Australia. Regardless, if there is one comedy that one should see this year, this is it!
Thanks for reading the review.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cripper
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Member: Chris Ying
Location: Sydney, Australia
Reviews written: 348
Trusted by: 323 members
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