Hot Fuzz (2007)
★★½ — Hot Fuzz (2007)
Hot Fuzz arrived as the second instalment in Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's so-called Cornetto trilogy, following Shaun of the Dead (2004) and preceding The World's End (2013). Wright had built his reputation on the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced before making the jump to features, and Hot Fuzz represented a significant step up in both budget and ambition, shooting primarily in Wells, Somerset (standing in for the fictional Sandford). Working Title Films, the outfit behind Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, co-produced alongside Big Talk and StudioCanal, giving the project a polish unusual for a British genre parody. The film was conceived as a loving send-up of American action pictures, particularly Point Break and Bad Boys II, filtered through the very particular lens of English village life.
I wanted to love Hot Fuzz. It has all the right pieces, the same brilliant duo in Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Edgar Wright’s razor-sharp direction, a stacked supporting cast of British character actors, and that signature blend of action parody and small-town absurdity. The premise is golden: a hyper-competent London cop shipped to a sleepy village where nothing ever happens, except, of course, something very dark is brewing beneath the pristine lawns and flower competitions. On paper, it’s perfect. But where I loved Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz just doesn’t connect with me. The humour feels broader, louder, more obsessed with style than soul. The rapid-fire editing, the endless homages, the escalating action set pieces (they’re technically impressive, even dazzling at times) but they don’t make me laugh. The satire of action movie tropes is clear, but it plays like a checklist rather than a punchline. And unlike Shaun, where the characters felt real beneath the jokes, here the satire sometimes swallows the sincerity whole. I know it’s massively loved. A cult favourite, even considered by many the best of the Cornetto trilogy. And I can appreciate the craft, the commitment, the sheer energy of it all. But for me, it’s style over substance. It’s funny in theory, impressive in execution, but it just does not land with me.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2007 | Watched: 2025-08-20
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from Edgar Wright: Baby Driver (2017) · Shaun of the Dead (2004)
More with Simon Pegg: Paul (2011) · The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022) · Shaun of the Dead (2004)
More from France: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Letter from Siberia (1957) · Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Here and Elsewhere (1976)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More crime: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Angst (1983) · Stolen Face (1952) · Cairo Station (1958)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
