by Charles Rainbow
Hot Fuzz was a satirical comedy action film that was directed by Edgar Wright, written by, Wright and Simon Pegg, and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. In the IMDb’s storyline, Film_Fan writes about the adventures of Nicholas Angel, a top patrolman that is so effective at his work, he makes all the other patrolmen and his superiors around him feel grossly inadequate. It had then been decided by upper management, to reassign Angel to a quiet small town called Sanford. However, there are a series of grizzly “accidents” that occur; causing Angel to believe that there was something very sinister going on in this very quiet small town; but it appears that only Angel can sense it. Needless to say Angle is prepared to turn Sanford upside down to prove there is a conspiracy at work. Film_Fan writes, “Angel and Danny (his partner) clash with everyone, whilst trying to uncover the truth behind the mystery of the apparent accidents."
The film was released worldwide in 2007, receiving critical and financial success. Hot Fuzz grossed $80,573,774 worldwide. In nine weeks, the film earned nearly twice what Shaun of the Dead made in the US, and more than three times its gross in other countries. Hot Fuzz was successful in worldwide DVD sales as well. According to “Movie Hot Fuzz-DVD Sales” (Aug. 2012), over one million DVD’s were sold in the United Kingdom in the first four weeks of its release and the United States, DVD sales grossed over 3.3 million in revenue.
I must admit that I had just watched Hot Fuzz for the first time and I found it to be very hilarious and way over the top with regards to the violence depicted in a cartoonish type of fashion. It was simply amazing to watch so many bullets flying everywhere and by many shooters, yet without killing anyone! Even the main antagonist could not die after being impaled through the mouth and throat. My impressions seem to parallel those of Manohla Dargis, the New York Times co-chief film critic who writes, “The wits behind the controlled chaos that is “Hot Fuzz,” a parody of Hollywood-style action flicks, wield a somewhat heavier comic cudgel than they did in their last big-screen outing, the zombie caper “Shaun of the Dead.” Though I am not a big fan of zombie movies, (except for World War Z) I plan to watch Shaun of the Dead. I am sure that I will find it to be very amusing
I was also wondering why the budget for this movie was very close to three times higher than the amount spent on “Shaun of the Dead.” According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the Hot Fuzz budget was listed at twelve million dollars. I believe that Dargis addresses that thought of mine when she writes, “This time, as they say in the blow-up business, it’s personal, or at least somewhat personalized, since the more obvious targets here include high-octane producer-auteurs like Jerry Bruckheimer and Joel Silver, who, with their fat budgets and armies of heavily armed bad boys, have helped define the modern action spectacular, reshaping the old kiss-kiss, bang-bang movie experience into the cinema of lock-and-load.” I was very curious to read some of the other critics’ responses regarding Hot Fuzz.
Rotten Tomatoes reported, “A 91% approval rating with an average rating of 7.7/10 based on 198 reviews.” The website's consensus reads, "The brilliant minds behind Shaun of the Dead successfully take a shot at the buddy cop genre with Hot Fuzz. The result is a bitingly satiric and hugely entertaining parody.” It also has a Metacritic score of 81/100. Olly Richards of Empire praised the chemistry between Pegg and Frost, saying: "After almost a decade together, they’re clearly so comfortable in each other’s presence that they feel no need to fight for the punchline, making them terrific company for two hours." Johnny Vaughan of the Sun already called it the "most arresting Brit-com of 2007.” Phillip French of The Observer, who did not care for Shaun of the Dead, warmed to the comedy team in this film. The film also received positive reviews stateside. Derek Elley of Variety praised Broadbent and Dalton as "especially good as Angel's hail-fellow-well-met superior and oily No. 1 suspect". As homage to the genre, the film was well received by screenwriter Shane Black. And on Spill.com it got their 2nd-highest rating of 'Full Price!!'
During my research on Hot Fuzz, I found that it also received good reviews from the audience as well. Just for an example; I thought that I would share couple of the reviews recorded on the IMDb website. Ryan Eames (from United Kingdom) writes, “I was lucky enough to see a preview of this film for free after I attended a random screening of Scorsese’s the Departed. Naturally hearing that the makers of Shaun of the Dead were behind this I had to go see it - if a group of people can make a romantic comedy with zombies, then a buddy cop film HAD to inventive and original. I can safely say that it was. I haven't laughed as hard in a film as I did with Hot Fuzz. The parts are all cast brilliantly - in particular Pegg and Frost as the two lead police officers.”
Dick Steel (Singapore) writes, “I will say it out clear and upfront - I love this movie, and without a doubt, a definite contender for my movie of the year. By the filmmakers of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz has everything that makes great entertainment, laced with wry Brit wit, and while it contains plenty of references from their earlier movie, it never bores, you're in for one heck of a time identifying the countless of movie references within.”
I was very curious to see what type of critical review that Hot Fuzz would get from a Christian based website. Here are some excerpts from Jonathan Rodriguez, a contributing reporter for http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2007/hotfuzz2007.html. He writes, “While there have been issues made over how certain movies are rated, I assure you that the rating given to “Hot Fuzz” is completely deserved. I bring this up because once again I am absolutely appalled by the number of children I saw wandering the theater while I watched the movie. I counted, at the very least, ten children under the age of maybe 12 absorbing the R-rated entertainment, right along with the rest of the adults in the room.” “Hot Fuzz” comes from the British team that brought us the gruesome, yet funny “Shaun of the Dead” The content in “Hot Fuzz” will likely keep many Christians away.” Rodriguez concludes his review by writing; “I was a big fan of “Shaun of the Dead” and while this film isn’t as funny, or as smart as that one, it has its own charm and is a decent option for adults only!” I would surmise that if “Hot Fuzz” can withstand this type of scrutiny from the audience, it has done quite well.
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