225 - Hot Fuzz review

The only thing about “Shaun of the Dead” that impressed me was how such a mediocre, appallingly convoluted film managed to drudge up such a feverish following. Hardly the blending of genres that its supporters claim, the tone shifted so suddenly and violently that I looked for a seatbelt so I wouldn’t be thrown out of my seat.

So did Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, writers, director and star (respectively) of “Shaun of the Dead” and now “Hot Fuzz,” learn any lessons from their last effort? It’s hard to say, seeing as the praise lavished upon them would make some filmmakers content to ignore criticism and be about their merry way. But “Hot Fuzz” gives me the feeling that they did learn something. Instead of the awkward stapling of genres ala “Shaun of the Dead,” this is both a spoof of hyper-violent buddy cop movies and a serious entry into the subgenre. Although buddy cop flicks don’t have to be funny, they can be, and “Hot Fuzz” if often so.

It’s aided by a bloody rich plot (double pun intended) where nearly every references and bit of dialogue in the first half ties directly into the second half and the events propelling it forward. Rife with gory murders and closed with a furious gun battle, Wright and Pegg seem to sincerely admire buddy cop conventions such as the comic mismatch and one-piece-at-a-time mystery solving.

Pegg stars as Sergeant Nicholas Angel, a London top cop so dedicated to the rules that he quickly admonishes anyone who uses the term “policeman”: “it’s police officer,” he points out, since gender has nothing to do with it. Angel’s arrest record is so stellar that his superiors promote him to a post to Sandford, a village where a busy week for the police consists of chasing loose swans.

On his first night Angel arrests Butterman (Nick Frost), a pudgy drunk who just happens to be his new partner. Butterman is an awe of Angel, pelting him with questions such as “have you ever shot two guns at once while jumping through the air?” and “have you ever shot one gun while jumping through the air?” This enthusiasm makes sense when we find out that Butterman religiously watches “Bad Boys 2,” certainly the bloodiest and blastiest buddy cop movie out there, and wishes that he would get the chance to paint the town red with the entrails of criminals.

Of course, by the end Butterman gets his wish and bullets shred through every corner of the quaint little village. “Hot Fuzz” eagerly becomes what it embraces and mocks, but consciously so, a poor man’s “Adaptation” for the action crowd. A series of grisly murders ripple through Sandford, leading Angel and Butterman to expose a conspiracy that can only be put to rest via brute force.

The climax is more fun than it has to be, yet pulls punches when it comes to the body count, surprising considering how many corpses lead up to it. Why Wright and Pegg hedge their bets at the close, I don’t know. And at 120 minutes, a number of talky scenes could be trimmed (this ain’t that funny). But at least “Hot Fuzz” remains consistent, and smart enough not to be too smart for its own material. Here’s hoping that when their next film comes around Wright and Pegg have learned even more.

3.5 out of 5