Tonight, I went to see Hot Fuzz, the action comedy "From the Makers of Shaun of the Dead" (as they say on all the posters and commercials). And it was a really wonderful experience.The movie targets a few "buddy cop" and "ridiculous action" movies in particular, but really it's an effective send-up of the entire genre. But as with Shaun of the Dead, it executes its parody in the context of a coherent story that stands completely on its own (as opposed to a skeleton for gags like, say, Airplane -- an equally valid, but different approach to parody).
In fact, the writing of the film is particularly commendable. The first half so expertly sets up the second half, would-be screen writers should study it. (More than a few working screen writers, too.) It's like the set-ups for dozens (maybe hundreds!) of jokes are told in acts one and two, and then act three is a relentless delivery of the punchlines. Which is not to say there aren't several good laughs in the first part of the movie, too. There are other aspects of the story I'd particularly praise, but I find it hard to do so without giving anything away.
It was not completely flawless. The last act was maybe just a bit overstuffed with action. Not that it wasn't laugh out loud hysterical. But it reminded me -- just a little bit, mind you -- of the ridiculous conclusion of the slasher movie Hostel, where out of nowhere, everyone who'd ever wronged the hero just lined up randomly for the slaughter. It was just a little too much. But at least this movie was trying to be funny. Trying, and succeeding.
I give it an A-. It's great for fans of action movies (the dumber, the better), British comedies, and yes, especially fans of Shaun of the Dead. In short, virtually everyone I know who likes movies would probably like this.
3 comments:
Yeah, this movie was incredibly well done and my only real criticism is the same one you had.
I know many people love it, but I only found Shaun of the Dead to be okay. I thought its concept was much better than its execution. It was goofy fun, but narratively didn't flow that well. Hot Fuzz, on the other hand, was awesome.
Well, I... uh... "counter-agree" with you too. I thought Shaun of the Dead offered some good laughs, but at best was just a slightly above average movie. I didn't see why so much praise had been heaped on it. But Hot Fuzz well deserves the stellar reviews it's been getting.
This is good to hear. I'd avoided Hot Fuzz on a couple of "not as good as SOTD" reviews but I trust your taste more. My mother even wants to see it (because it was filmed near where she grew up).
For example, I finally got round to seeing The Prestige and I love it too. But does the reveal how he does the trick make complete sense to you? I can't get my head around it.
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