Woo, woo it's the sound of the police: straight after bashing the undead in Shaun, Simon Pegg tools up for Hot Fuzz, a criminally funny cop movie parody that plays like Bad Boys II meets Midsomer Murders (and we mean that as a compliment). Pegg stars as top London rozzer Nicholas Angel, transferred to a sleepy Somerset village by his jealous colleagues. It's supposed to be an easy gig, but pretty soon the city plod's up to his helmet in murder...
Keeping the genre-busting humour of Shaun - just without the zombies - Hot Fuzz is described as "a British Shane Black movie". They're not kidding - 20 minutes of heavily stylised, slow-mo gun porn sees Nicholas and partner Danny (Nick Frost) - "Crockett and Tubby" - turn the village into a smoking wreck. Yet that's just the finale of a movie that's happiest (and funniest) bouncing off British staples like TV detectives, hoodie-wearing yoofs and country ways.
"A MOVIE YOU'LL WANT TO SEE AGAIN"
True, it's not nearly as dead-on as instant classic Shaun, its cop movie targets a little too soft, too easy. And yes, it needs trimming, a turgid second half too self-indulgent for its own good. But it's a movie you'll still want to see again, if only to get all the mini-jokes: throwaway little gems like Frost's "Judge Judy and executioner" gag. It's refreshingly British comedy (it even has a shootout in Somerfield supermarket!) and after watching this, Point Break will never seem the same again. Look out Hollywood: the Fuzz are coming.
Hot Fuzz is released in UK cinemas on 14th February 2007.