by Kris Katz
Brief spoiler-free entertainment reviews

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Just like Shaun of the Dead is a solid zombie movie and a hilarious comedy, Hot Fuzz is an awesome action movie and a riotous send up of all the cliches that action films hold dear. It's clear from the get-go that Director Edgar Wright and his star Simon Pegg have a love for the material, but the twist is in setting it within a quiet, unassuming British villiage with no conspiracies to speak of, and no law breaking beyond typical youthful indiscretion. Oh, and the occasional villager is mysteriously and brutally torn limb from limb in fairly frequent freak accidents. The sense of humor here is quintessentially British: beautifully understated and hopelessly ironic. The result is a glorious celebration of the action genre; a love note to fans of two-hour explodathons that says that yes, these movies are predictable and often awful, but oh so much fun. Any problems present are simply due to it being what it is—an action film. That means the cliches are true, the plot mostly predictable, and the action is often wildly over the top. If you've any love for the genre it's ripping on, a shred of an inner movie geek, or just like a good spot of British Humour, this is an absolute must-see.

10 out of 10.

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