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Hot Fuzz DVD Review

by Kam Williams

Brit Parody of Murder Mystery Genre Out on DVD

With an arrest rate four times that of anyone else on the force, Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is London's most highly-decorated cop. But instead of appreciating the efforts of their department's star, his superiors reward the overzealous officer with a transfer to a precinct far away from the city.

Nick's new beat is in quaint little Sandford, a picturesque village which looks like a relic of a bygone era. The idyllic oasis has remained crime-free by virtue of the tireless efforts of its Neighborhood Watch Association (NWA).

This self-appointed committee of nitpicking town elders micro-manages every aspect of their fellow citizens' daily life, mandating compliance with regulations which have turned most into Stepford Wives-level zombies.

With the NWA already regulating behavior so successfully, it's no surprise that the only person to greet Nicholas' arrival with any enthusiasm is his new partner, Danny (Nick Frost), who dreams of participating in spectacular gunfights and car chases like the heroes of his favorite action flicks. Although a crime hasn't technically been committed in sleepy Sandford in ages, it doesn't take Sergeant Angel long to detect that there's something suspicious about the alarming number of accidental deaths in town.

And as he starts to scratch below the surface, it becomes readily apparent that the killings are the work of a vigilante taking the law into his or her own hands. So, it falls to Nick and Danny to discern which of these seemingly-saintly model citizens might be behind the string of staged murders, and the gumshoes' employ an array of increasingly gruesome methods to crack the case wide open.

Hot Fuzz is an over-the-top action extravaganza brought to you by the same British blokes behind Shaun of the Dead. But instead of parodying horror flicks, here, they're lampooning the murder mystery genre.

Kudos to co-stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for re-generating the chemistry which made Shaun such a successful cult hit. Bloody funny bloodletting, if that's your thing.

Very good (3 stars)
Rated R for violence, profanity and graphic images.
Running time: 121 minutes
Studio: Universal Studios Home Video

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