Fellmans Movie Reviews

 RED = SPOILERS: 

The second movie in what is playfully called “The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy” is Hot Fuzz. The Cornetto Trilogy consists of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End. I really like Hot Fuzz. Not nearly as much as I like Shaun of the Dead. But seeing as Shaun of the Dead is my second favorite movie, nothing is ever really going to come close now, is it? But Hot Fuzz is still a fantastic comedy. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have that same chemistry that they always do. And there’s some elements that play off the previous movie. Some jokes that come right off the jokes that were in Shaun of the Dead. Like when Nick goes to jump over the fences to take a shortcut and it doesn’t fall down, he uses the line “What’s wrong? Never taken a shortcut before?” It was a classic scene from Shaun of the Dead. That’s what makes it a joke in Hot Fuzz. It’s things like that that are scattered all throughout the movie that make it a really good comedy. Not only that, but Edgar Wright has a real eye for directing shots and coming from certain angles. So, with scenes like the church steeple falling on that newspaper reporter, the camera angle was really good. Edgar Wright just has a talent for stuff like that.  

What’s it about? Hot Fuzz is about Nicholas Angel. A London policeman, or police “officer” because “policeman” is a bit sexist… But a London officer that is transferred to a small village in the country called Sandford. Nick isn’t a big fan of this because he’s the top of his class and loves action and catching bad guys and all of that. And Nick suspects that being in the country will be dull and boring. But when he gets there, he finds that it’s anything but, as several people die within the span of a week. They’re all called “accidents”, but Nick suspects something else. He sees someone get murdered right in front of him and his suspicions are confirmed. It turns out a whole group of villagers are in a group, killing people to keep the town in a state of bliss. Nick begins to fight back and takes the law back by force. 

What’s good? There’s a lot of good comedy in this movie. All the same wit and banter that there was in Shaun of the Dead is all present here, too. I don’t think all the supporting characters are as great as in Shaun of the Dead, but you can’t compare everything. They’re still really good supporting characters. The script is fantastic. The dialogue is great between everybody. The jokes are funny as hell. Just the little one-liners that get tossed in every now and then. Those are really great. Nick Frost has a lot of those.  

What’s bad? It does go on kind of long. The end kind of drags on. The fight scene seems to repeat itself for a little while unnecessarily. Apart from that, there’s not a whole lot that I can think of.   

The acting? The acting is great. Especially coming from Timothy Dalton, the former James Bond. Who plays one of the villainous villagers going against Nick in the film. He’s as slick in this movie as he was as the former secret agent himself.  

The effects? The effects are as good as they were in the previous movie. There’s still a good amount of blood and guts going around. The effects are nothing spectacular. It’s not a Star Wars film or anything. But it’s nothing to shake a stick at.

Simon and Nick. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have one of those chemistries that on-screen duos have that have been together for a long time because they’ve been friends for so long. Real-life friends that also do movies and television together. It just carries over and it makes the scene even better because of it. It lends its natural compatibility to the art and just makes it easier for everybody to work because it’s one less thing to have to worry about.  

The build-up of Skinner as the suspect. It’s a good twist, building up Skinner as the killer and then turning it around. He looks rather suspicious already, doesn’t he? Just kind of standing there, he has a wicked grin on his face. Like he’s guilty of doing something… 

The big reveal. The big reveal near the end of the movie is almost a double reveal. You get a double dip of a movie twist. I like that. It’s funny how you expect one turn, and then don’t see the other coming because you were expecting another explanation, and the one they give you is like “wait, what…?  

The fight scene. The fight scene seems kind of long. Like, for a comedy like Hot Fuzz, I really think you’re changing the dynamic of the movie when you go from joke after joke to a big gunfight. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for a big gunfight. It’s just, when you spend an entire movie being funny with interspersed bits of action, to make it one big action movie seems like a real big change of gears.  

The swan. I love that swan bit. “The town’s most wanted criminal…” When Stephen Merchant was describing him to Nick. “Well… It’s a swan…” When it’s sitting between Nick and Danny in the police car. All gold… 

The mumbly guy. It’s a great bit when they’re talking to the mumbly farmer and they have to take the one policeman who mumbles all the time to translate. So, it’s a three-step process to talk between all three of them. That’s a pretty funny bit right there. 

So, not only should you watch Hot Fuzz, but you should see all Three Flavours of the Cornetto Trilogy. It’s tasty and funny. And I highly recommend it. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…