Hot Fuzz
for violent content including some graphic images, and language.
Reviewed by: Jonathan Rodriguez
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Extremely Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Adults |
| Genre: | Action, Adventure, Comedy |
| Length: | 2 hr. 1 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2007 |
| USA Release: |
April 20, 2007 (limited) |
| Featuring | Jim Broadbent, Steve Coogan (“Night at the Museum”), Timothy Dalton, Edward Woodward, Simon Pegg, Martin Freeman (“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”), Paul Freeman (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”), Bill Nighy (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”), Lucy Punch, Anne Reid, Billie Whitelaw, Stuart Wilson (“The Mask of Zorro”), Edward Woodward |
| Director |
Edgar Wright |
| Producer | Natascha Wharton, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner |
| Distributor |
 Rogue Pictures |
“They are going to bust your arse.”
Let me begin this review by simply pointing out the rating of the movie “Hot Fuzz.” It is rated R. Not PG or PG-13. It is rated R, and it is rated that way for a reason. While there have been issues made over how certain movies are rated, I assure you that the rating given to “Hot Fuzz” is completely deserved. I bring this up because once again I am absolutely appalled by the number of children I saw wandering the theater while I watched the movie. I counted, at the very least, ten children under the age of maybe 12 absorbing the R-rated entertainment, right along with the rest of the adults in the room. Last time I checked, R meant not appropriate for children under 17, but for some reason, parents continue to allow their children to view material not intended for them. Please, any parents reading this review, do not let your child or children see this or any other movie that is not appropriate for them to be watching. Half of the time, these movies are hardly appropriate for adults to be watching, let alone impressionable children.
“Hot Fuzz” comes from the British team that brought us the gruesome, yet funny “Shaun of the Dead,” a homage of sorts to the zombie classics that came before it. Once again, they present an homage, but this time to buddy-cop action movies. Simon Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, a sergeant in the London Metropolitan police force so good at his job that his superiors feel threatened by his zeal for his job. They decide that instead of having him around to make them all look bad, they will transfer him away to a quiet, uneventful village in the English countryside.
Upon arrival, Nicholas sees petty crimes being committed everywhere and sets his foot down as a new force in town to be reckoned with. He arrests a man for drunk driving, but discovers the next morning that the man is one of the members of the town’s bumbling police crew. The man’s name is Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) and his father is Inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent), the head of the department. Nicholas is partnered with Danny, and the two patrol town, responding to calls about lost swans and neighbors trimming each other’s hedges. Things start getting interesting when two members of town are killed in an automobile “accident,” that looks nothing like an accident to Nicholas. More “accidents” happen in the safest town in England and Nicholas sets out to determine what’s really going on in his quiet little town.
The content in “Hot Fuzz” will likely keep many Christians away. While there isn’t as much offensive language as there was in “Shaun of the Dead,” the violence is right on par with that film, and may actually exceed it. There are many bloody, gruesome deaths in the film, a couple of which actually drew some surprised gasps. There is language, with around 20 F-words. There are also a few irreverent uses of the Lord’s name in vain, one by a priest that was particularly offensive, but drew laughs from the crowd. There isn’t a whole lot of sexual content. A couple are assumed to be having an affair, a few crude jokes are made, and a female police officer wears a pair of plastic breasts over her uniform during a birthday party. Suffice it to say, the content is for adults only, and parents should not allow children and teenagers to watch this movie.
I have to admit, though, that I have become quite fond of the pairing of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The real life friends have a chemistry unmatched by most recent Hollywood pairings, and both have shown in “Shaun of the Dead,” and now here in “Hot Fuzz,” that they are quite capable at the surprising dramatic scenes that the films contain. They are funny, and likable, and show themselves at time as vulnerable, something you don’t expect to see in a film of this nature. I was a big fan of “Shaun of the Dead,” and while this film isn’t as funny, or as smart as that one, it has it’s own charm and is a decent option for adults only.
Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Mild
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
This is an ingenious movie that would satisfy most people. It has a well flowing storyline, as well as some black humor, great script and some great action. Pegg does a great job as Angel and his partnership with Butterman shows well in the movie. The character development between the two increases well as the movie goes on, as each tries to understand the other. The humour was razor sharp, mainly shown in the lines and also in some silly (yet still funny) action. One example of that was where Angel leaps over a heap of fences seemingly effortlessly, while his partner Butterman can’t even get over the first fence—he bulldozes it instead. I can’t give away much more than that… otherwise I’d spoil the movie for you.
However, having said that, this is not a movie that everyone will choose to see. There are very gory bits scattered throughout the movie, mainly through the grisly murders that are committed throughout the movie. There are beheadings, a graphic stabbing, a head blows to bits in a grisly murder and someone gets their chin impaled quite graphically. Undoubtedly in this case, little is left to the imagination, so if blood makes you turn green, then maybe this movie is not for you.
As well as that, there are the usual cop gun battles and punch ups as well, which isn’t as concerning as the former. Profanity was also a problem within the movie, however, it was funny that the Sandford Police department had a “swearing tax” box—if someone swore, they had to put some money in a tin box, and the proceeds would go to repairs of the village’s church roof. Now if only Hollywood would introduce that concept for future movies…
As well as the vicious violence and the moderate profanity, there were a couple of things that I found to be offensive in this flick. One is the degradation of God in this movie. This is shown in a conversation between Angel and the reverend, and it goes like this: Angel: “I may not be a religious man, but I know the difference between right and wrong.” Reverend: “**** you grasshopper.” This was extremely offensive to me, because the Reverend was meant to show a godly example to the people in the village, and in the end swore and spoke God’s name in vain. I have no understanding as to why the scriptwriters put that in.
And then there was the part where the Reverend was too judgmental on Angel. When he asked where Angel’s standing on God was, Angel pointed out that he was doubtful that there was a God, but was willing to accept that there was such a thing as religion. The reverend immediately wrote Angel off as an agnostic, where there could have been a chance to show that God is real. It is a sad fact that Hollywood likes to take shots at Christianity within movies, be it either very obvious to the viewer or not.
However, despite this, I still thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was the great action, character development and script that kept me hooked to the end. It may not be a movie for everyone, but if it is, then go in, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
Average / 4½
Offensive / 4½
Extremely Offensive / 2
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Very Offensive / 5
Offensive / 5
Very Offensive / 4½
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 5