Movie review: Hot Fuzz
As I promised to start including movie review into my blog (inaugurated with The Golden Compass), I quickly realized that my movie-watching habits are not very conducive to this activity. I go to the cinema once in a blue moon. Majority of the movies get to my living room months if not years after their initial release, either on DVD or cable (even with cable, for a fairly tech-savvy guy, I only very recently started taking advantage of the great concept of PVR – Personal Video Recorder; before that, cable viewing was accidental or infrequently tape-recorded).
Because of that, I can hardly expect that I can give anyone an advice on watching any particular movie – you likely have already watched it anyway. (There goes potential increase in traffic to my site… [Sigh]…) Instead, I will view these reviews as exercises in essaying, and will be happy if somebody is compelled to discuss. On the very bright side, I do not have to be overly careful in avoiding spoilers 
Enough of the preambles. Let’s get to the movie that I finished watching very recently.
A cop par excellence is re-assigned from his London beat to a small town in England’s West. He arrives to find a serene and tight-knit community and a lax and not exactly competent police force service. As he follows his policeman instincts, he causes a lot more disturbance than the town is used to. Of course, nothing is what it seems in this sleepy place, and very soon gruesome deaths begin occurring…
Hot Fuzz starts nothing short of brilliant. Simon Pegg projects both single-mindedness of Sgt Nicholas Angel and his general bafflement over why other people do not share his attitude with the perfect blend of body language, facial expressions and quietly impeccable speech. I love the quick cuts that bridge the narrative. Angel’s equanimity, coupled with the haplessness and indolence of his new comrades-in-arms, makes for great situational comedy.
Unfortunately, when the plot picks up speed, the movie slides into grotesque and loses its brilliance. Nicholas starts questioning his sanity, showing emotions, and that process somehow looks very formulaic and not entirely convincing. The murder scenes are very brief and perfectly in line with the quick-cut technique, but at least one of them is graphic enough to leave a lasting image, which is hardly a desirable outcome for what is essentially a comedy. The climactic gunfight is splendidly staged and brilliantly results in not a single death; but the effect is somewhat negated by a follow-up penultimate scene, which has Nick Frost’s big-child Danny Butterman complete his conversion to Nicholas’s cause by taking a bullet for him. Completely unnecessary plot twist, for my money. At least, Danny’s loyalty is largely based on the bond that he developed with Nicholas over time; the other members of the police department – who have dismissed and ridiculed the sergeant throughout the movie, – radically turn to the two partners’ help in a span of 60 seconds.
Despite these shortcomings, the movie is worth watching. Think of it as a live-action cartoon, and you will be quite entertained.
This review is also posted on my page on spout.com.
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