HOT FUZZ (2007)
Directed by Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Coleman, Paddy Considine, Rafe Spall, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Cate Blanchett (uncredited), Peter Jackson (ditto)
Police Constable Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is the bright shining star of the London Police Department. In fact, he's so good, he's making the rest of the Metropolitan Police look bad. So while he's promoted to Sergeant, he is also transferred to the sleepy little village of Sandford, where there hasn't been a recorded violent crime for decades. The big-city cop has a hard time fitting in with the small-town force and it's laid back Chief Butterman (Broadbent) and action film loving son Danny (Frost). But when several citizen meet a string of spectacularly violent ends, Sergeant Angel suspects murder. However, the rest of force - as well as the rest of the town - just think it's a string of freak accidents. Sergeant Angel's number one suspect is the sleazy supermarket owner (Dalton), but knowing it and proving it are two different things.
The same team that brought us Shaun of the Dead now tries their hand at the action-buddy-cop-film. As with Shaun, it doesn't seek to make fun of the conventions of the genre, but rather plays them up for laughs in the way of a good-natured homage. The filmmakers are obviously fans, and it shows. There are references to nearly every cop movie out there, from the overt rip-offs of Point Break and Bad Boys II to more subtle references to Chinatown. But the film is more than just a string of pop culture references. It stands on its own two feet and puts its own spin on things. It even has a third-act shootout that rivals anything Michael Bay has put out.
Pegg plays Sergeant Angel as a sort of British equivalent to Joe Friday - a no-nonsense cop who just wants to get to the bottom of things. He plays everything by the book (literally - he carries it around in his patrol car with him) and has a hell of a time doing so with the lackadaisical force he's been partnered with. Nick Frost plays Constable Butterman with the same lazy joie-de-vivre as his character "Ed" in Shaun. However, in this film, PC Butterman looks up to Sergeant Angel as a mentor, who can teach him the finer things about police work, like how to jump through the air firing two guns at once. But the standout performance is Timothy Dalton's turn as the sleazy Simon Skinner, who runs the local supermarket. As soon as you see him, you know he's up to no good. There's not a lot in the way of mystery about him. But as I said before, part of the fun is trying to figure out how he's responsible.
And I'm going to leave it at that, as the end of this film has a pretty interesting twist that I don't want to give away. Let's just say that Skinner wasn't acting alone. At first, this big "twist" was a bit disappointing and more than a bit confusing, but what they do afterward makes up for it. It's certainly an ending you won't forget. But that's all I'm saying. Watch it for yourself!
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