Expanding on the series of Wright's humorous and stylized action films, Hot Fuzz is an absolute blast of a movie. This is, in my opinion, the best of the trilogy, as it combines a riveting story with amazing performances and visuals. At its core, this movie is an old western for the modern age and every part works extremely well together.
This film truly excels in every way possible and proves that Wright's style has been refined since Shaun of the Dead. The writing of this film is incredible and provides a great story to follow along with. The pacing does not drag at all, which was an issue for the previous film and keeps the audience engaged through its entirety. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost once again shine, this time as Nicholas Angel and Danny Butterman, respectively. Pegg plays quite the opposite of a character than his previous character was and honestly, I prefer the hard-ass cop Pegg. He nails the look and feel of an elite officer and provides a hilarious contrast to the small town that he is assigned to. Frost plays a local police officer who is lazy and unmotivated, but his subtle unawareness of everything made the contrast that much more hilarious. These character developments were also aided by the action and use of violence which, I can't emphasize it enough: was astounding.
Hot Fuzz is a much more stylized and violent film than its predecessor, but it worked very well. While there was not as much of the trademark music synchronization as his other films, Wright still manages to deliver his quick, lovable style. The fast-paced "gearing-up" montages and the nature of the film especially worked with this movie. One of the main reasons I think it worked so much better in this than Shaun of the Dead was because of the plot of the movie. In the previous, the two main characters were lazy slackers who dealt with a zombie uprising, and in this one, the plot is much more centered around action, as they play two cops. There is a certain level of irony that makes the characters in the 2004 film funny with that style, but I believe it truly fits Hot Fuzz much better.
Once again, this film is full of plenty of hilarious visual gags and full-circle jokes. It is especially interesting to see how some of the jokes are continued through his films. Of course, the Cornetto ice cream cones are used to connect the movies and give the trilogy its name. One joke that I noticed watching these films back to back was Nick Frost saying "yeah boy" or "yeah Roy" in his quirky, English accent. These little details are really what make these movies so entertaining. I also loved the focus on cinematography and choreography in the action scenes. The framing and ironic use of the shots just added to the story that much more. My favorite piece about the story, though, is how it is disguised. I feel like Wright was trying to hide a classic, old-western, sheriff story inside of a police comedy and it absolutely worked. My only issue with this movie is its many concluding scenes. The last five or so minutes went by so quickly because of the multitude of "endings." While they were all for the sake of completing the subplots, I feel like Wright had too many ways that he wanted to end the film and tried to fit them all in.
Hot Fuzz is undoubtedly the best of the Cornetto trilogy as I could rewatch it countless times and still be entertained. The action, the visual humor, the framing, and so much more make this film the masterpiece that it is. If you have never seen this movie or have not been exposed to the art of Edgar Wright, do yourself a favor and watch this.
My Rating: ★★★★★
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