Having recently had Shoot ‘Em Up inflicted on me, I felt violated and dirty. And not the good chocolate-smeared-on-naked-body kind of dirty. No, I’m talking the kind of dirty that makes you need to take four showers with a wire brush. So, I decided to watch good Gun Porn and reached into the cabinet and pulled out Hot Fuzz, and got all warm and tingly.

The sole purpose of Hot Fuzz is to provide a reason for the concluding gun battle between Sergeant Angel and the NWA. But, unlike Shoot ‘Em Up the setup is executed perfectly. From From “You can’t be the Sheriff of London!” comment to Angel riding into town on a white horse with shotguns strapped to his back and bandoliers across his chest and the short interest sequence with fencing to the sword fight in the middle of the film climax. Hot Fuzz is proof that good writing can take one idea and make a film out of it.

However, Hot Fuzz does suffer from a bit of multiple personality disorder.  It moves jumps around from Serious Cop Film, to buddy cop film, to teen slasher flick, to buddy cop film, to British Humour,  to buddy cop film before finally settling on Gun Porn.  Which is just as well, the voices in my head were getting tired trying to keep up.  It may have been better had a single style been settled on earlier, but then the Gun Porn would not have been so highly anticipated, or so effective.

Despite the kick-ass climactic gun battle, Hot Fuzz only manages to get 4 Stay Puft Marshmallow Men.  This has more to do with Shaun of the Dead setting the bar so high than any failing on the part of Hot Fuzz.   Perhaps an extra gun fight or two may have resulted in an extra marshmallow man, but it may also have cost them points on the rewatchability rating.

Hot Fuzz also scores a respectable 4 Mutant Smileys.  It requires a little too much brainpower to keep up with the multiple personality disorder to watch as frequently as a brain death inducing film like Evolution.  But contains enough lighthearted moments and the best gunfight of all time to warrant multiple viewings.

The biggest problem with good British humour is that so much of it is situational.  As a result, there are very few lines that work out of context.  The repeated “The Greater Good” is memorable, but probably not the best quote, although the Gregorian way in which it was said was amusing.  However, the comment on Bad Boys 2 “But there is no way you can perpetrate that amount of carnage and mayhem and not incur a considerable amount of paperwork.” is why you don’t want to be a cop.  Villains don’t have paperwork.

If you like British Humour, buy Hot Fuzz.  If you like action comedy, buy Hot Fuzz, and, If you’re reading this, I’m surprised it doesn’t have a designated spot in your collection already.

<—- Here is the affiliate link to buy Hot Fuzz.  Buy it by clicking there and help me fund my addiction to Dodgy Movies.  They’re less expensive than crack and can be reused