Hot Fuzz, 10 years on

It is Hot Fuzz’s 10 year anniversary—yes, ten years since it first had us lining up in cinemas—so the cast and crew recently took part in a screening and Q&A at London’s BFI cinema as part of the LOCO film festival. So re-watching this on the big screen a decade later, does it hold up? Well, let’s view the evidence.

If you haven’t seen it, here’s a brief overview: An extraordinary London police officer, Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg), is reluctantly reassigned to the sweet English village of Sandford. As he settles into his new way of life at a new station with a low crime rate and an action-obsessed partner Danny Buttermen (Nick Frost), it’s not too long before Angel suspects that not all is as sweet as it seems.

Wright is a unique storyteller, with his fast cuts and whip pans of everyday tasks. He is able to cut together mundane tasks to look similar to an action scene. With that in mind, when Wright came to filming action scenes for real, he was able to deliver some excellent action set pieces. From doing police paper work looking more like an adrenaline pumping fight scene taking place on a roof top of a burning building to having a shoot out in a pub that rivals most car chases. The fast cuts are not only funny but clever and creative. This is why Wright is highly regarded as a director. He is able to tell the story fast and give a lot of information in a short time but not leave the viewer feeling overloaded or lost.

The cast bring something fun and entertaining to their characters and they are a joy to watch. But with a cast like this, from Timothy Dalton to Jim Broadbent to Billie Whitelaw to Edward Woodward, what else do you expect? It’s a great blend of old and new all telling a fun mystery story. The comedy duo of Pegg and Frost brings the comedy as always, from line delivery to great physical action.

After poking fun at the zombie horror genre, Pegg and Wright turned their sights on the buddy cop action genre. With great one liners and witty dialogue, Hot Fuzz pokes fun at all the clichés in action. But it must be said that Pegg and Wright are clearly huge fans of the action police films like Point Break and Bad Boys II.

Hot Fuzz is a love letter to the action genre. The jokes come fast and you may even miss some, as there are nods and subtle winks hidden in the frame. There really is never a dull moment and every frame has meaning. A hilarious parody, great story, and, as a whole, one hell of an action movie.

A decade later and Hot Fuzz is free to go, and has the right to remain entertaining audiences everywhere.