After some considerable time away from the keyboard, I've finally decided to get off my behind (well stay on it albeit in front of the computer) and get another review together.

So… I've decided to write a review on the movie HOT FUZZ. The latest collaboration from Simon Pegg, Nice Frost and Edgar Wright. Now, if you have no idea who any of these guys are, I'd suggest you've either been living with your head in the sand or you have no idea who or what is funny in British comedy these days. You might want to stop reading if you believe the pulse of British comedy is Keeping Up Appearances or something along those lines…

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BACKGROUND INFO:

SIMON PEGG:

Born in Gloucester, England on February 14th 1970, Simon Pegg has fast become a highly respected and well known face on our television screens.

He has appeared in some very notable television programmes and movies. It would seem we will be seeing much more of Simon Pegg - and to those who know and love his previous work, this can only be a good thing.

SELECTED TELEVISION APPEARANCES:

Asylum (1995)
Big Train (1998)
Spaced (1999/2001)
Band Of Brothers (2001)
Black Books (2004)
Doctor Who (2005)

SELECTED FILM APPEARANCES

Guest House Paradiso (1999)
The Parole Officer (2001)
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Hot Fuzz (2007)

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NICK FROST

Born in Essex, England on March 28th 1972, Nick Frost is well known due to his work alongside his real-life best friend, Simon Pegg.

Although not originally an actor, (he worked as a waiter and had some low-end "acting" stints for sales training videos for the likes of the Dixons group) Frost was a flat mate of Simon Pegg and created a character to amuse him. This character was army obsessed Mike. A character that Pegg loved so much, he wrote into the comedy series Spaced and had Frost play himself.

Frost, while not having the same degree of limelight that Simon Pegg is currently enjoying, is still becoming a recognisable face on television.

SELECTED TELEVISION APPEARANCES

Spaced (1999/2001)
Acorn Antiques (2001)
Danger! 50,000 Volts! (2002)
Man Stroke Woman (2005)

SELECTED FILM APPEARANCES

Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Kinky Boots (2005)
Hot Fuzz (2007)

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EDGAR WRIGHT

Born in Dorset, England on 18th April 1974, Edgar Wright has made a considerable name for himself as a director of both very popular television programmes and has made the leap from the small screen to the cinema screen with relative ease. He is most well known from his work with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

Although he started directing when he was in his early teens, he got noticed when he was 20 when he made the spoof western, A Fistful Of Fingers. This got picked up by Sky Movies (and only now do I realise I watched this on TV years back and found it funny - surely a good sign that I would enjoy his future productions).

SELECTED TELEVISION (DIRECTOR)

Asylum (1996)
Is It Bill Bailey? (1998)
Spaced (1999/2001)

SELECTED FILM (DIRECTOR)
A Fistful Of Fingers (1994)
Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Hot Fuzz (2007)

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Okay… I have to apologise for the segments above BUT I felt I had to try to show that the careers of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright have been so connected for so many years now that I feel their partnerships are nigh on perfect. They must all know each other so well by now that they know what makes things funny or not - which is why we pretty much never see anything that's not funny in anything that comes from them.

So… on that happy note, it's on with the review (at last!)…

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THE PLOT

The film starts off with some brief but thorough background on police officer Nicholas Angel - a hard faced, no nonsense that has passed through pretty much every rigorous training procedure in the police force (though I shouldn't say force as it sounds too aggressive)…

His track record is absolutely amazing, having received many honours for his bravery and efficiency in the line of duty.

Ironically, that is also to be his undoing. His record has been making everyone else look bad - including his superiors and their superiors. Thus, a decision is made to have Angel relocated elsewhere whereupon with him out of the way, others may get a chance to shine.

The place that Angel is being sent to is a small village of Sandford, Gloucestershire. Upon arriving there, we realise (as does Angel himself) that although he was a very big fish in a very big pond back in London, he is now a fish out of water and very much a stranger in a strange land.

It quickly becomes apparent that the residents of Sandford are more than just a little… odd. There is something both strangely familiar and homely about the depiction of Sandford and yet there is always something at the back of your mind that makes you aware that there is something not quite right - even sinister - about this sleepy little village.

The problems begin when local people start being killed - by a dark robed, hooded murderer… Is it the work of the grim reaper himself?

The Sandford police department don't seem to think so - and put the deaths down to unfortunate accidents… but Angel is unconvinced and tries in vain to make his superiors and colleagues see differently. The question is: can he convince them before more people die?

There are so many odd characters within the village of Sandford - and yet they are all believable enough despite walking the line on being somewhat clichéd and stereotypical. In the hands of any other team, I believe this would have definitely been the case but the excellent team work of Pegg, frost and Wright holds it together so tightly it's a joy to watch.

In the Sandford police department, there are enough odd characters without going into the residents out with the police station! There's (in no particular order of preference)

The Andies… Why are they called this?!? Well… They're both called Andy. DS Andy Wainwright and DS Andy Cartwright! They're both moustached, chain-smoking hard arses who look like they belong in The Sweeney or some other gritty, 70's police show. However, as well as being full of attitude, they also have the sense of humour of school children - laughing at the words "skid marks" when Angel is talking to them about a traffic accident…

PC Doris Thatcher is quite a simple girl who comes out with more smutty double-entendre than a Carry On convention! When she finds out that Angel has already been given the tour of the station, she states she should have done it as she's been around the station a few times. The station bike then?

Overseeing business in the station is Inspector Frank Butterman. He's full of idealistic notions about Sandford and like many of the locals, he has an obsession with ensuring that the village retains its crown as Village Of The Year. Is this all for "the greater good" as they all suggest?

Angel is partnered with Frank Buttermans son, Danny. Danny is a bumbling but good-intentioned film enthusiast (sounds familiar…) although he has more than a slight preference to action movies - and soon introduces Angel to his two all time favourites - Point Break and Bad Boys II!

The rest of the police team should be so mismatched but they just gel in the world that Hot Fuzz is set in!

The other characters from around the village of Sandford are played by so many other famous actors and actresses that I don't know where to start!!!

Ex-James Bond, Timothy Dalton plays the local supermarket manager, Simon Skinner. It's a character a million miles from Bond and Dalton seems to be enjoying every moment of hamming it up!

Other notable cast members include:

Paul Freeman (Reverend Philip Shooter) - If you don't recognise this actor or his name then shame on you! He was Indiana Jones' enemy Rene Belloq in the fantastic Raiders Of The Lost Ark back in 1981!

Edward Woodward (Tom Weaver) - Famous for his roles in cult classics such as the original version of The Wicker Man - although to me he'll always be Robert McCall… that's The Equaliser to you and me though!

Billie Whitelaw (Joyce Cooper) - I was pretty surprised to find out that this actress was the psycho/satanic nanny to Damien in the original version of The Omen! If that's not worthy of mention, I don't know what is!

I won't go on about the sheer amount of very famous faces that are in Hot Fuzz as it's a lot of fun trying to spot them all. Clearly, Pegg, Frost and Wright had a dream list of famous names from favourite films and TV programmes and obviously had lots of success in getting them aboard the project! Very well done, guys!

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THE ACTING:

As I've slightly touched upon, there are some very formidable acting talents among the cast of Hot Fuzz and they all give the film some serious gravitas but don't bring the atmosphere down. Clearly, they're all having a blast in this production - even though some of them are "proper" thesps. I'm sure they were advised by their agents very quickly about the popularity of the work created by the team behind Hot Fuzz and could probably already hear the sound of cash registers ringing with future box office returns and DVD sales.

There's simply not one bad piece of acting in this whole film. Any shoddy characters on display are not due to bad acting - but is simply due to the characters being conveyed exactly how they were written.

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THE SPECIAL EFFECTS:

I've only added this segment to my review as it's worthy of mentioning that when some members of Sandford bite the dust, there are a couple of scenes which contain some strong gore.

While these don't detract in any way from the film in my opinion, they certainly do push the 15 certificate to its very limits and may be unsuitable to some people who are of a more… sensitive disposition.

You have been warned!!!

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MY (LONG OVERDUE) CONCLUSION:

Hot Fuzz will certainly not disappoint fans of Spaced and Shaun Of The Dead. It's another great step forward in the relationship between Pegg, Frost and Wright and will have their fans looking forward to their next project together - whatever it may be… I know… I'm one of them!

The film captures the whole stranger in a strange land/fish out of water/outsider theme very well as well as getting the whole buddy-buddy partnership theme à la Lethal Weapon and of course, Bad Boys pretty much bang on!

I don't honestly remember the last time I sat in the cinema and laughed out loud so often during a film. Perhaps it's simply because I never have. Although there are maybe a couple of gags that miss their mark - though very slightly that it doesn't matter at all because most of the funny moments and lines of dialogue in this movie are so spot-on.

They say that laughter is medicinal… So go and see Hot Fuzz as it's bound to make you feel better (just be careful you don't have a laughter overdose!).

Many thanks for reading this…

Derek.