Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Hot Fuzz

MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) 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)
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Relevant Issues
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How does viewing violence in movies affect the family? Answer

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

“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.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—If you liked “Shaun of the Dead,” then no need to convince you to see Hot Fuzz you have probably already made up your mind to see it. To those who didn’t see “Shaun of the Dead,” you will still probably enjoy “Hot Fuzz.” It is a loving homage to films such as “Bad Boys” and “Point Break,” both of which are referance serveral times during the film. Content-wise the violence, like in “Shaun of the Dead,” is a bit over the top the language, however, I am glad to say isn’t as severe. Of course, there are some F-words, some C-words I don’t really recall the Lord’s name being used in vain save for ***spoiler alert*** One scene where the pastor of the church is shot, although he is one of the bad guys. I will warn again about the violence again it is over the top and in some cases graphic so I wouldn’t advise anyone under 17 to see this movie or Christians who aren’t strong in their faith. While I was a fan of “Shaun of te Dead,” and I loved “Hot Fuzz,” it is far from being a movie for everyone, especially discerning Christians.
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 5
Daniel, age 25
Positive—This is a cop movie with a difference—mixing in English police mysteries such as Agatha Christie and “Midsomer Murders” and big budget cop films such as “Bad Boys.” The result? A funny, action packed and overall fuzz-tastic movie. Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is a cop who literally has no life—his life is the police force in London. Ever since he was a little kid, all he wanted to be was a cop—even when (as shown in a recount by Angel) his uncle was not entirely a good example as a cop dealing with a drug market. He’s decreased crime by 400% in London, graduated at the top of the class… and apparently he makes the whole London police squad look shoddy by being a one man police force. The result? The Chief Inspector (Bill Nighy) promotes Angel to Sargent… and relocates him to a sleepy village called Sandford. There, Angel struggles… he is given trivial jobs such as chasing a runaway goose and is partnered with a dim-witted yet well meaning constable named Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) whose father is the top guy in the Sandford Police Force. However, just as Angel is beginning to despair that anything police-worthy will happen in Sandford, a heap of gory and grisly murders start to pop up around the village, committed by a mystery person that looks more like the Grim Reaper. Angel then realises that Sandford may not be the sleepy village that it seems to be.

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.
My Ratings: Average / 4½
Dave, age 21
Positive—If you have sat the entire way through “Shaun of the Dead,” this movie will be right up your alley. From the get go you get the feeling that there is more to this film than meets the eye. Quirky from the start you soon find out a much deeper darker plot lies hidden in the this quaint little town. I saw this with a good friend of mine and after the film was over we both stood up and said at the same time “wow that was really good.” The acting, writing, plot, and humor are all spot on it this film making it a very enjoyable time. Keep in mind this is a film—and a comedy at that. Believe it or not there is very little sexual humor to be found. Mostly slapstick and one liners. The R-rating comes from language and violence, and as I mentioned before if you have sat through “Shaun of the Dead,” this one should be no problem for you. I found both the language and the violence more tame than Shaun. This film earns my recommendation quite easily…
My Ratings: Offensive / 4½
Steve, age 19
Negative
Negative—This film, like all films, had a message to convey. The hero, Sgt. Angel, is an agnostic, and throughout the film tells us that he knows right from wrong, apart from God. The priest in the film is, of course, a murderous deceiver who takes God’s name in vain. I went to this movie thinking it would be a funny, police-movie spoof—at least that’s what the trailers portrayed. It ended up being more violent than some horror flicks I’ve seen in my BC days. The herky-jerky scene interludes in the movie were frequent and confusing, detracting from the technical merits of the film. I walked away feeling dirty…
My Ratings: Extremely Offensive / 2
Thor Ryan, age 34
Negative—…No Christian should be watching this. I consider myself fairly open-minded when it comes to films, but I finished watching this movie feeling absolutely filthy. There are some laughs, yes. But the price of those laughs takes the form of the most gruesome violence I have ever seen. Parody or not, this movie is incapable of edifying anyone. Please avoid it.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Jon, age 27 (USA)
Comments from young people
Positive—This movie is hilarious! I loved it and bought my own copy (finally) a week or so ago. Funny, well-done British film that was even better the WRIGHT’S SHAUN OF THE DEAD. While it is violent, grusomely a few times; and it has 19 f-words, this film is still highly enjoyable! One of the best movies of 2007! If you can deal with the language and the violence, this film is a must! …There are some rather mild jokes about how one female officer may be sexual promiscuous, but other then that nothing.
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 5
Joshua, age 14
Positive—…f-words are pretty much non existent until the last 30 minutes when they come pretty fast and though they come fast… I thought the profanity in this film was much less than “Shaun of the Dead” and much more toned down compared to that movie. Yes, there is violence but that is why its a spoof, people, of all the other even more violent buddy cop movies out there. I would recomend doing what I did and renting it on dvd in order to skip the gruesome murders mainly the piece of the church falling on a man’s head I’ve read is rather disgusting supposedly, but other than the murders all the other violence is just. Yes, people get shot, but nobody even gets killed in the final 30 minute long shootout in the village square. So, yes this probably is not a movie you should see over and over again because it isn’t the most Christian movie but with no, I repeat no sex or nudity and not much language for a R rated movie I would recomend that 16 year olds with (reservations of course and no younger) on up should be able to see this as long as they skip the disgusting murders. This film is hilarious and funny and smart as well and a biting satire I recomend this and give it its more appropriate rating of offensive extremely offensive rating is just ridiculous. And, of course, remember though this is an R-rated movie so if your not allowed to see this just watch the Monty Python movies.
My Ratings: Offensive / 5
Craig, age 16
Positive—One of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time, HOT FUZZ is a British comedy from the men who brought you the ROM-ZOM-COM (romantic-zombie-comedy) SHAUN OF THE DEAD, but better. SGT. Nicholas Angel is a cop in London, he is the best of the best and makes everybody else look bad, but that’s a problem; so the head men at the department ship him off to the country side where he will keep out of their hair. Once there, this uptight cop must face the fact that nothing happens in the countryside, well, supposedly. This film is outrageously funny, a brand new take on the buddy cop genre that works with enough funny one-liners to keep you entertained for days. But as for the content, well, there we have a problem. This movie has multiple very bloody death scenes, and nearly 20 f-words. This is not for the young ones at all and even some adults may be offended by its content; but if you can handle it then I highly recommend it! VIOLENCE: heavy / language: heavy / sex/nudity: mild
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 4½
Joshua, age 14