Hot Fuzz
I couldn't take it any longer. I just had to see Hot Fuzz so last night I bloody well gone done did.
And was it a crushing disappointment? Nope. It wasn't totally what I was expecting - it's not simply an American-style buddycop action romp transposed to a quaint British village - it's still very much its own thing.
Like Shaun of the Dead, it's arguably not a classic piece of filmmaking, but still brilliant fun and highly recommended. One of the things I liked about it was that it felt less like Spaced than Shaun of the Dead did. Spaced fans (and I'm a big one) might not like the sound of that but I actually think it works in the film's favour.
Possibly thanks to the Somerset setting, the cast lost the 'naturalistic' affectations of the acting style that had been inherited from Spaced in Shaun of the Dead. One of the problems I've had with Nick Frost's other projects like Man Stroke Woman and Hyperdrive is that he only seemed to have one (increasingly irritating) acting style and, much as I love him, I began to doubt his abilities. But Hot Fuzz proves he is far more capable than he lets on.
Simon Pegg also manages to escape being Tim and plays it wonderfully straight. And Timothy Dalton seemed perfectly cast as, well, you'll have to watch the film to see why. I was also really pleased to see the return of Rafe Spall, who played Noel, the slightly facetious sales assistant at Shaun's electronics outlet in Shaun of the Dead. It's great because I watched Shaun of the Dead the other day and was thinking what a good character Noel was. What's a surprise is to see how much he has changed for his role - alongside Paddy Considine! - in Hot Fuzz.
In summary then: well worth a watch.
And was it a crushing disappointment? Nope. It wasn't totally what I was expecting - it's not simply an American-style buddycop action romp transposed to a quaint British village - it's still very much its own thing.
Like Shaun of the Dead, it's arguably not a classic piece of filmmaking, but still brilliant fun and highly recommended. One of the things I liked about it was that it felt less like Spaced than Shaun of the Dead did. Spaced fans (and I'm a big one) might not like the sound of that but I actually think it works in the film's favour.
Possibly thanks to the Somerset setting, the cast lost the 'naturalistic' affectations of the acting style that had been inherited from Spaced in Shaun of the Dead. One of the problems I've had with Nick Frost's other projects like Man Stroke Woman and Hyperdrive is that he only seemed to have one (increasingly irritating) acting style and, much as I love him, I began to doubt his abilities. But Hot Fuzz proves he is far more capable than he lets on.
Simon Pegg also manages to escape being Tim and plays it wonderfully straight. And Timothy Dalton seemed perfectly cast as, well, you'll have to watch the film to see why. I was also really pleased to see the return of Rafe Spall, who played Noel, the slightly facetious sales assistant at Shaun's electronics outlet in Shaun of the Dead. It's great because I watched Shaun of the Dead the other day and was thinking what a good character Noel was. What's a surprise is to see how much he has changed for his role - alongside Paddy Considine! - in Hot Fuzz.
In summary then: well worth a watch.
