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Hot Fuzz
#578 | Posted Thursday 15th February 2007 at 02:10pm by Andi Smith
Hot Fuzz = Not Fussed
Amy and I went to see Hot Fuzz last night, the latest film by the genius behind Shaun of the Dead.
I had avoided seeing any pre-release hype or spoilers as I did not want to ruin the film, all I knew was it was about the police force. Perhaps some research into what the film was about may have made it more enjoyable, Amy certainly seemed to enjoy it more than me possibly because she knew the rough storyline and the critics seem to be saying they enjoyed it a lot more on a second viewing. And I think that's the problem I had with this film. There's too much to take in the first time around. There are too many characters, there are too many changes of scenery or changes of what is happening it's just impossible to keep up. You really need to familiarize yourself with the story before you go to appreciate what has been made, and the only real way to do that is to see the film twice. I'm not going to reveal any spoilers below, but I would advise anyone wishing to see the film that they get at least a basic idea of what the film will be about before going.
After an initial interesting piece, the film slowed down with a lot of now overused 'slam scene' effects (used in the same way as in Shaun of the Dead) and then it took around 20 minutes before it started to gain momentum again. The whole film shifted location, and shifted characters and we had to follow Simon Pegg (playing the unfunny Nicholas Angel) through this journey.
Once the film finally introduced Danny (Nick Frost), it became brilliant. Gag after gag, one liner after one liner and some genuinely laugh out loud moments in a comedy version of Midsummer Murders. The cast was full of British comedy stars and ex-James Bond Timothy Dalton as Mr Skinner was fantastic. The world was believable, despite how ridiculous some of the events happening were.
And then they ruined it. They made the storyline too ridiculous, too unbelievable. And then they decided to stop being funny. And what followed was around 20 minutes of unfunny low budget poorly edited action where any attempts of gags were 'been there, done that', and I found myself looking at my watch. After that, the film never really recovered, which was a shame.
When this comes out on DVD, I may give it another look as I really feel a second viewing would probably make me enjoy much, much more. But for the moment, I'm disappointed with Hot Fuzz - it's not a patch on Shaun of the Dead.
Hot Fuzz - 5/10
Filed under Cinema and Film Reviews | 7 comments - last by Andi | Bookmark this!
Comments
Kev the Jedi
#2 | Friday 16th February 2007 at 07:36am
Interesting review, I shall see what I think next Wednesday!!
Andi
#3 | Sunday 18th February 2007 at 10:48am | Webpage: http://www.andismith.com
You'll probably both think it was great... all the critics seem to like it.
Robin
#4 | Sunday 18th February 2007 at 03:38pm
Like Kev says interesting review. I'll go along with an open mind but its not my sort of comedy so I'm more than likely to agree with your review. ha ha
Dunc
#5 | Monday 19th February 2007 at 08:26am
I saw Simon Pegg on Top Gear last night and they showed a clip
IT LOOKS GOOD!
I'm propper looking forward to it - I'll be laughing like I was in Ice Age
Dunc
#6 | Thursday 22nd February 2007 at 12:10pm
Right i've now seen the film and my biggest disapointment i'll moean about is the cinema its self - they started the film out of focus and the wrong size, everything was squashed - idiots!
After they sorted that out we were about 2 thirds of the way through when for no reason the film stopped, then started in reverse and stopped again - they sorted it for 5 mins and then stopped it again - this is when people started walking out - but it came back and stayed untill the end.
The film its selft was very funny. it did slow down like you said but then i think that was right for the story. I loved it and can't wait to see it again (uninterputed hopefully).
We did get our money back so that was a small bonus on a great annoyance.
Great film - see it again mate and dont take it seriously and i bet you'll love it.
Andi
#7 | Friday 23rd February 2007 at 03:43am | Webpage: http://www.andismith.com
Maybe.. I don't know if I would. I'll wait til the DVD release, anyway....
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Dunc
#1 | Thursday 15th February 2007 at 11:04am
What a review - i'm going to see it next wednessday, you can grace your presence in Croydon to see it again with us if you wish.
And i hope to Pooh pooh your review as i have high expectations on the film, Shaun of the Dead was so good I hope i can put this up at the same level - we'll see...