Mel Gibson Eat Your Heart Out (Hot Fuzz (Special Edition, 2 DVDs))

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	Hot Fuzz (Special Edition, 2 DVDs)
Date:	29/12/07 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Extremely funny

Disadvantages: Not a lot!

FILM REVIEW ONLY

This is an absolutely hilarious comedy come action flick that seriously takes the mickey out of the seemingly never ending spate of cop action/buddy movies from the States.

The director, who also wrote the script, is Edgar Wright, who also wrote and directed the incredibly funny (and also mickey taking) Shaun of the Dead back in 2004.

This time he turns his quirky (some might even say weird) sense of humour to convincingly send up the spate of incredibly violent cop movies that never seem to be off our cinema and TV screens these days. That's not to say I don't like a lot of them by the way. Just that there *DOES* seem to be an awful lot of them on the go!

Simon Pegg (who also starred in Shaun of the Dead) plays Nicholas Angel, a London copper who is so good at his job that he's making all his colleagues and superior officers look incompetent with his never ending string of convictions and recommendations for bravery. So they give him a promotion to sergeant and pack him off to the seemingly sleepy rural village of Sandford, where the most exciting thing that happens every year is they win the "Village of the Year" award.

Angel is teamed up with the local inspector's son, Danny Butterman, who is played by another actor from Shaun of the Dead, Nick Frost. Danny is a total incompetent, with an enormous collection of violent cop movies, a penchant for guns, and a taste for strong booze, ice cream, and violence.

But all is not as it seems in the sleepy hollow that is Sandford, and passions and violence are simmering away just below the surface.

Eventually the whole cooking pot literally explodes into an orgy of completely over the top violence that is filmed so convincingly that at times you would swear they had drafted in the master of violent scenes himself, the incomparable John Woo to direct the scenes. But remember when you watch this that this is no big budget Hollywood blockbuster with unlimited funds, but a fairly low budget British production.

The movie boasts a virtual galaxy of stars. Timothy Dalton (ex James Bond) plays a villainous and sleazy supermarket owner, while the superb Edward Woodward is the head of the local Neighbourhood Watch. There are even small cameo roles for the likes of Cate Blanchett (The Aviator) and the director of King Kong, Peter Jackson. Even the director himself gets in on the act when he takes a cameo as a shelf stacker in the local supermarket.

What makes the movie for me is the way the actors concerned totally commit to their roles, and play them all so seriously, despite the fact the storyline and action sequences are so obviously ludicrous and exaggerated. Simon Pegg is simply brilliant in the leading role, and his sidekick Nick Frost plays the part of his sidekick and partner to perfection. Timothy Dalton is excellent as one of the villains of the piece, and seems to revel in his part.

This movie is currently showing on Sky Movies Premier, (December 2007) so do yourself a favour and catch it if you can. If that's not possible then rent or buy the DVD as soon as possible. I'm off to eBay straight away to see can I find myself a bargain.

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Runtime: 121 minutes
Classification in the UK: 15. (Graphic violence and strong language)

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© KenJ December 2007

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Summary: Very funny and well directed and produced action comedy