Pop culture sponges Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost team up again for HOT FUZZ, their follow-up to the surprise hit movie SHAUN OF THE DEAD. HOT FUZZ follows a near-identical formula to its predecessor, simply replacing the various homages to horror movies by heaping on the adulation for action flicks such as POINT BREAK and BAD BOYS II (both of which are referenced throughout). The plot finds outstanding London-based police officer Nicholas Angel (Pegg) transplanted to a rural English village. On arrival, Angel teams up with the oaf-like PC Danny Butterman (Frost) and together they investigate a series of mysterious murders, all of which are classed as "accidents" by the increasingly strange townsfolk.
Director Wright combines gory set-pieces with traditional action-movie staples: mustachioed detectives in sunglasses, corny one-liners, rapid machine-gun fire, and blood-spattered fight scenes all feature heavily. References to other movies come thick and fast throughout, and HOT FUZZ will have film fans' memories working overtime as they try to catch all the allusions to Pegg/Wright/Frost's favorite films. A veritable Who's Who of British comedy provides support, with Martin Freeman (THE OFFICE), Bill Bailey (BLACK BOOKS), Steve Coogan (I'M ALAN PARTRIDGE), and Olivia Colman (PEEP SHOW) in small roles, and there's even space in the cast for serious actors like Timothy Dalton and Paddy Considine. HOT FUZZ eases up on the humor of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and often threatens to topple over into Chuck Norris territory, but Wright manages to insert enough gags to keep the balance just about perfect, providing a fitting, amusing, and occasionally touching homage to cinema's action heroes.
Blu-ray Disc Features:
Region [unknown]
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - English, French, Spanish
DTS - English, French, Spanish
DTS HD Master Audio - English, French, Spanish
Subtitles - French, Spanish
Stars
Simon Pegg: Actor, director, SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
Nick Frost: Actor, SHAUN OF THE DEAD
Bill Bailey:
Jim Broadbent: British actor
Olivia Colman: British comedic actress, PEEP SHOW
Paddy Considine: A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS
Steve Coogan: British comedian/actor
Timothy Dalton: Welsh actor, the 4th James Bond
Kevin Eldon: British comic actor
Martin Freeman: British Actor
Bill Nighy: British actor, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, UNDERWORLD
Edward Woodward: British Actor
Director
Edgar Wright: Director, SHAUN OF THE DEAD
Producer
Tim Bevan:
Nira Park: Producer, HOT FUZZ (2007)
Screenwriter
Edgar Wright: Director, SHAUN OF THE DEAD
Simon Pegg: Actor, director, SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
Composer
David Arnold: Composer/"Stargate"
Director of Photography
Jess Hall: Director of Photography, HOT FUZZ (2007)
Review 1:
3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] churning blender of gags, mugs, kinks, quirks, sneaks, nods, wink-winks, zingers and stingers that thunders along..."
Source: Total Film
p.43 04/01/2007
Review 2:
"Full blooded as the action is, Wright and Pegg's comedic verve and detail-conscious writing shine through..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.66 04/01/2007
Review 3:
"[A] very funny cop comedy....These guys are as much A-level scholars of movie genre conventions as their better-known, better-hyped Stateside colleagues Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez..." -- Grade: B+
Source: Entertainment Weekly
116-117 04/27/2007
Review 4:
3 stars out of 4 -- "You can't beat these Brits for blood lust and belly laughs....It's a blast."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.70 04/19/2007
Review 5:
3 stars out of 5 -- "[F]illed with gentle British laughs and chaotic American ultraviolence....[HOT FUZZ] knows who it's shooting for and picks them off expertly."
Source: Uncut
p.137 08/01/2007
Review 6:
3 stars out of 4 -- "[D]eeply nuts and exhaustingly hilarious..."
Source: Premiere
p.44 04/01/2007
Review 7:
"Mr. Pegg and Mr. Frost, who played best buddies in SHAUN OF THE DEAD, have an easy, believable rapport....Think of it as THE FULL MONTY blown to smithereens."
Source: New York Times
p.E10 04/18/2007
Review 8:
"In director Edgar Wright and Pegg's tight script, the humor works on several levels....Best is Wright's slick style, with quick cuts that move the action along at a clip."
Source: Box Office
p.66 05/01/2007
Review 9:
4 stars out of 5 -- "HOT FUZZ is pure fun from start to finish and is so chock full of blink-and-you'll-miss-it gags that it's endlessly watchable."
Source: Ultimate DVD
p.29 06/29/2007