Hot Fuzz (www.the-usher.com)

"The Swan has escaped!"

London Metropolitan Police officer Nicholas Angel (Pegg) was the best of the best. His arrest rate was 400% better than any other officer and he led an elite first response unit that was the envy of every division. The problem is that he is too good and is showing the rest of the officers, so the Chief Inspector (Nighy) promotes him to sergeant and reassigns him. His new assignment is in the sleepy West Country town of Sandford where the biggest incident to happen is the local swan escaping but when a series of freak accidents start claiming the lives of some of the residents, Angel thinks they maybe connected. Now all he has to do is convince his new Inspector, Frank Butterman (Broadbent) and his new partner Danny (Frost).

After gaining cult status with their last movie 'Shaun of the Dead', the anticipation for Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's latest was bound to be huge but the second film going to be as good as the first?

'Shaun of the Dead' was a massive fan favourite and a critical success all over the world and following that up was always going to be difficult but inside of simply going down the horror path again they have chosen another genre to pay homage to. This time around they take us into big bang, gun wielding, all out Hollywood style action but set it in the West Country of England.

The premise is simple. A big city cop, the best in the business, is reassigned to a sleepy town for being too good and showing up his fellow officers. When he gets there he finds it hard to switch off his policing skills and settle down to country life, looking for crime at every turn and every accident but when he thinks a recent spate of accidents could actually be murders, he can't help but investigate. That is the story and a brilliant way of building a plot that will enable co-writers Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg to pay homage to their favourite action movies during the brilliant finale.

Of course, as they did with 'Shaun of the Dead', the writing duo brilliantly mix in a large amount of comedy into the script and create characters that are both memorable and outstandingly realised. Simon Pegg's Nicholas Angel is your typical hardnosed cop who basically lives and breathes the law. An expert in every facet of policing, he is a super cop. Simon Pegg plays him with great skill and extremely straight, as you'd expect for a man so dedicated to his work. His partner Danny, is wonderfully played by Nick Frost. A complete change from Ed in 'Shaun..', Danny is an instantly loveable character who's sweet nature and obsession with Nicholas' career make him a firm favourite from the off. Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall are extremely funny as Sandford's detectives who constantly take the mickey out of Nicholas and Danny. Jim Broadbent is also exceptional as Inspector Frank Butterman, the small town chief how doesn't believe that anything could happen in his small town. When you add in eye-catching performances from Timothy Dalton as supermarket owner Simon Skinner, Edward Woodward as Neighbourhood Watch leader Tom Weaver, Bill Bailey as Sergeant Turner and Olivia Colman as PC Doris Thatcher. Throw in cameos by Steve Coogan, Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman and many more and you have a brilliant cast bringing to life these great characters.

As with 'Shaun of the Dead', the writing duo pay homage to some of their favourite action movies. There are huge nods to 'Bad Boys II' and 'Point Break', as well as all the other clich�s that big Hollywood action movies have stuck to since the 80s. The absolutely astonishingly good, action packed finale has everything and shows that Edgar Wright is a talented director that is just at home with comedy, horror and action and could probably turn his had to anything.

'Hot Fuzz' is destined to become cult classic just like 'Shaun of the Dead'. With great characters, an engaging story and a finale that will be considered a classic not just in comedy but in action movies as well. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg are the shining lights of the British film industry and 'Hot Fuzz' will push them to even greater heights.

4 Audio Commentaries: Commentary featuring Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, Commentary with the real fuzz, Commentary with Sandford Village People, Commentary featuring Sandford Police
Outtakes (10m 19s) T
heatrical Trailers & TV Spots
The Man Who Would Be Fuzz
Hot Funk
Fuzz-o-meter Storyboards
Flick Book: The Other Side (0m 19s)
22 Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (19m 50s)
Making of Documentary
13 Video Blogs (Web Blogs 1-12 + The Lost Blog) (32m 20s)
Featurettes
Photo & Poster Galleries
Plot Holes & Comparisons (3m 14s)
Special Effects: Before & After (6 Scenes) (6m 0s)
Dead Right: Edgar Wright's First Cop Movie with Filmmaker Commentaries (40m 10s): Commentary by Edgar Wright, Commentary by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg
Am Blam: Making Dead Right (10m 26s)

Shaun of the Dead

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2007