The Film
Cop clichés get spoofed in the UK import, Hot Fuzz. All of Hollywood's favorite flatfoots are combined into one Nicholas Angel (Pegg), a picture perfect policeman with a stellar record. Angel is so good at his job, he puts other cops to shame. However, instead of being shamed, they ship him off to the sleepy town of Sandford.
Angel is teamed with the bumbling Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), whose dad (Jim Broadbent) also happens to be the police chief. Angel and Butterman have all of the charm of Lethal Weapon's Riggs and Murtaugh, except they are pasty white Brits with a lot more hardware.
That hardware generates plenty of explosions, as well as laughs. That's all you need to know, except that Hot Fuzz re-teams the dynamic writing duo of Pegg and Edgar Wright.
Throw in Pegg with Frost, a sinister Timothy Dalton, references to
Point Break and
Bad Boys 2, and you have a one of the best buddy and spoof comedies all rolled into one.
Hot for more? Check out Joe Lozito's review of the theatrical release of
Hot Fuzz.
The Picture
Talk about hot cops; this 2.35:1 looks stellar on Blu-ray right from the beginning. Blacks are deep and the colors are extremely bold and spot on. It's also got a lot of detail, from the sleepy little town square to the body count to the biohazard gear. This is great demo material. It's hard to get much better from Blu-ray.
The Sound
Cops, sirens, explosions -- oh my! The DTS-HD Master Audio tracks has plenty to play with here. The bass is booming and the surrounds are given quite a workout throughout most of the movie. After all, there are a lot of bullets and explosions. Even in the quieter moments, there's plenty to listen to; public transportation rumbles along, as does thunder and rain. Even the scenes from Point Break sound better than we remember.
The Extras
At first glance, this release doesn't seem to have as many extras as its predecessor, Shaun of the Dead. However, with every click, more seem to pop up. A stunning six commentaries, outtakes, pop-up trivia, a making-of feature and video diaries should be enough. However, one of those commentaries adds Quentin Tarantino (who partnered with Wright for Grindhouse) into the mix for some of his high-octane "sleezy celebrity charm." However, one of the best extras is Wright's first cop flick, Dead Right. This isn't just a bizarre 40-minute treat, but Dead Right includes its own set of extras, including two commentaries and a making-of featurette.
Final Thoughts
Hot Fuzz delivers hot Blu-ray action, from beginning to end. Car chases, explosions and Timothy Dalton in high-def should be enough to entice. Also, we have to give it up for any movie that puts Point Break on a pedestal. If you don't pray to the same altar, the re-teaming of Pegg, Wright and Frost alone should make this one a no-brainer.
Product Details
- Actors: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Paddy Considine, Edward Woodward, Billie Whitelaw
- Director: Edgar Wright
- Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), DTS 5.1 (French, Spanish), Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Region: A
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: R
- Studio: Universal Pictures
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: September 22, 2009
- Run Time: 121 minutes
- List Price: $26.98
- Extras:
- The Fuzzball Rally: Uncut Commentary with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost & Joe Cornish
- Feature Commentary with Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg
- Feature Commentary with the Sandford Police Services: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Kevin Eldon & Olivia Colman
- Feature Commentary with Edgar Wright & Quentin Tarantino
- Feature Commentary with the Sandford Village People: Kenneth Cranham, Timothy Dalton, Paul Freeman & Edward Woodward
- Feature Commentary with the Real Fuzz: Andy Leafe & Nick Eckland
- Inadmissible Deleted Scenes
- Outtakes
- The Evidence Room
- The Man Who Would Be Fuzz
- Hot Funk
- Danny's Notebook: The Other Side
- Additional Video Blogs
- Trailers
- Storyboard Gallery
- U-Control: Fuzz-O-Meter
- U-Control: Storyboards
- D-Box Motion Enabled
