Yes, the Throwback Thursday Review of Inception and the Triple-R over Interstellar from three weeks ago are still not published. I'll do what I can to get both reviews online shortly, but in the meantime I'm continuing my series of Edgar Wright reviews with my thoughts on Hot Fuzz. In case you were not already aware, I'm alternating between reviewing Edgar Wright movies and Steven King adaptations for the next month or so. If you want an idea of what else I'm reviewing for the remainder of August, I intend publishing Throwback Thursday Reviews of Stand By Me, The World's End, and The Shining in addition to reviews of new releases Kidnap, Wind River, The Glass Castle, Logan Lucky, and The Hitman's Bodyguard.
'Hot Fuzz' Review
Hot Fuzz escorts hot-shot London officer Nicholas Angel as he's reassigned to the small, humdrum countryside village of Sanford because he outshone the entire London police force. Angel has a difficult time adjusting to the quieter surroundings till he discovers a series of conspicuous killings that enables him to rock back into action.
Hot Fuzz is the second chapter in Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, an anthology series of parody films directed by Wright, written by Wright and Simon Pegg, produced by Nira Park, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost including Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End. The films that make up the Cornetto trilogy have virtually no relation to one another aside from director Edgar Wright helming each installment, some common cast members, and notable use of Cornetto ice cream. The Three Flavours signify the three different genres in the trilogy (Zombie romantic comedy, a buddy cop comedy, and an apocalyptic sci-fi comedy) and each film actually utilized a different flavour to represent these three genres (Shaun of the Dead- strawberry for gore, Hot Fuzz- the classic blue wrapper for the police element, and The World's End- green mint chocolate chip to represent aliens).
Now that I've explained the fundamentals of the Cornetto trilogy, Hot Fuzz is Wright's take on American buddy cop action flicks. Only Wright blends the essential elements with an English environment and some good ol' fashioned British humour to mix things up. Pegg and Wright construct clever circumstances for the jokes to arise and this film never fails to grant me an incessant giggle. The deadpan dialogue's witty, the comedic timing's dead on, and the situational spoof's are ridiculously riotous. I challenge you to get through Hot Fuzz without cracking a smile. It's simply impossible, unless the humor's flying straight over your head. However, that's extremely unlikely.
Wright tips his hat towards American buddy cop features like Point Break and Bad Boys II with not only cheeky references, but in the film's structure. Hot Fuzz is shot and edited to lovingly tease the unnecessary jump-cut edits Michael Bay often employs and Wright even pokes fun at the over-the-top elements these action flicks engage with in their thrilling third acts. Hot Fuzz is a hoot from start-to-finish and you'd be hard pressed to find another spoof as ambitious and endearing as this one. I won't go into the insane shenanigans the film unravels, as to avoid spoiling these events for those who have not yet seen Hot Fuzz.
Simon Pegg plays the straight cop as try-hard, workaholic Nicholas Angel, a complete reversal of the slacker sensibilities he displayed in Shaun of the Dead. Nick Frost on the other hand offers another immature sidekick audiences won't be able to get enough of. Even though dynamic was dynamite to start with, Hot Fuzz proved a significant shake-up could only improve their interactions. An eccentric English ensemble featuring the likes of Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Edward Woodward, Martin Freeman, and Bill Nighy elevate the stock nature of their archetypal characters to stand as consequential characters by the time the yellow tape's been lain out.
At the end of my investigation, I've found Hot Fuzz to be one of a couple comedies that I can watch endlessly and never grow tired of. The film is currently on Netflix, so sound your sirens and go check it out if you missed out on the hubbub. After a hard-pressed interrogation, I can say Hot Fuzz has locked itself in as my favourite of the Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy, and second favourite Edgar Wright film following Baby Driver.
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