From the guys who wrote, directed, and acted in "Shawn of the Dead" (the movie that "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" should have been) comes "Hot Fuzz".
Sergeant Nicholas Angel is the best cop in the London PD. Top in all his classes, he's an expert in all manner of vehicle, and good with most any weapon whether gun, baton, or pencil. His arrest record is 400% that of the rest of the department. And he's making the other cops look bad. So they ship him off to some tiny backwater village where nothing ever happens.
Soon he realizes that this "Village of the Year" for several decades running has a secret. It has the lowest murder rate in all of England but the highest accident rate. Despite opposition from the rest of the force he begins investigating the accidents.
"Hot Fuzz" isn't as good as "Shawn of the Dead" and I've been trying to figure out why. Don't get me wrong, it's a good movie. It's funnier than the "Lethal Weapon", "48 Hours", or the "Police Squad" movies/shows. There's been just as much, if not more, thought put into the writing of "Hot Fuzz". The acting is just as good. The references to other movies in the genre still permeate the movie. But I'm not gonna get it on DVD while I've watched "Shawn..." several times.
I think it's because because "Shawn..." takes a zombie movie and puts in people we can identify with. Shawn and Ed were spot on for my friends Brian and Ben in so many ways. We can identify with the relationship problems, the issues with Shawn's stepfather, the shitty job, etc.
The characters in "Hot Fuzz" on the other hand are based on characters from other action movies. You don't watch "Die Hard" and think "my college roommate was just like John McClane" and you don't do that in this movie either. There's some relationship strife early in the movie, but it's for a few gags and then the movie moves on. The characters are just as two dimensional as in any other action movie.
Anyway, I recommend this movie, but I don't need to get it on DVD.
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