Hot Fuzz

Bad Boys II. Leathal Weapon. Die Hard. Mad Max. Dirty Harry. What do they all have in common except for being totally bad ass? They are all referenced in "Hot Fuzz," the new comedy by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. The men that brought us the modern comedy classic, Shaun of the Dead, have done it again... and it is now out on DVD!

The story is of Nicholas Angel. He's a policeman who's 400% more efficient than the average London policeman. So, they decide to make him sergant and transfer him to a small village where nothing bad ever happens. Within a week of him arriving there is an accident... and a few more accidents follow leading to death. Angel and his new found best friend, Danny Butterman, start investigating them as murders. Which leads to something no one would expect, and a giant action sequence.

For fans of all of this comedy team, you will notice that Nick and Danny's friendship is very different than what it has been in the other projects they have made. Namely, they don't start off as life long friends, and Danny isn't holding down Nick from attaining what he really wants. This has been a staple in both "Spaced" and "Shaun of the Dead." It is very interesting seeing this beginning to a friendship that we can assume will end up like the others, except more bad ass. You see, while "Shaun" could very well have been a movie of "Spaced" but with zombies, there is a fundamental difference: Pegg's performance. Here he isn't playing the average joe he has before. He is playing a straight laced, all about his work, bad ass cop, and he pulls it off very well. While he is not what we think of as an action star when we see him, when he is working, it is awesome and he captures it very well. Which leads to Frost's performance as the lovable man-child we all know and love. He is here to get Danny to care about somebody more than his job, and to introduce him to movies like "Point Blank" and "Bad Boys II." When they are together, there is a very good chemistry, but a very DIFFERENT chemistry than what we are used to seeing between them.

So, I have now seen this movie twice and I will judge the comedy on the re-watchability. Which is fairly decent, but it falls much more flat upon your second viewing. It isn't because the comedy isn't as funny, it is just that most of the jokes are more simple than those in Spaced and Shaun and have a "one really good laugh" value. Also, a large amount of the comedy is supplied in the last 3rd of the movie, during the big action sequence and the 2nd time you just don't have the same shock value you do the first time you see it, but it is still very funny. The problem with watching this movie on the small screen is the same problem that almost all action movies have with being shown on the small screen:

The action. While on the big screen it was big and bad ass, on the small screen action just doesn't live up. In the theaters though, you could feel every little rumble and shake because of the speakers, and the explosions were 30 feet high. It was AWESOME! But once more, shock value comes into play with action and the shock value has just sort of rubbed off a little after the first one. Not to say there aren't very cool parts on the small screen, there is, but it was just so much better on the big screen.

If you have never seen this movie, check it out any way you can. It will be hilarious and awesome to you at the same time. But if you have seen it on the big screen already... wait until you see a local theater re-running it at 10 o'clock at night to see it again, so you can have the same movie going experience. All in all, it will be for the greater good.