Finally got off my arse to go see Hot Fuzz last night, and I can confirm it’s good. Really good.

Minor spoilerage follows…

Good that is, for the kind of geek who likes their films chock-full of references and homages, subtle hints and details, and totally out-of-place dialogue. Of course if you’re not the kind of person who likes the person in the cinema next to you going “Have you figured out why he’s holding that pot plant?”, “Did you spot how all the characters’ last names are named for professions?” or thinks its hilarious when mid-gun battle Angel and Butterman break off to discuss what suitable pithy payoff line to utter when dispatching the next bad guy, then you might not like it. Also, the first half of the film is admittedly quite slow but it picks up in the second half, and is well worth the payoff.

End of spoilerage

Also a big shout out to the superb Timothy Dalton, who steals the show as the oily supermarket owner Simon Skinner, and hopefully on the strength of that performance makes a decent comeback as a comic actor, because he really deserves it. Jim Broadbent is as reliable and enjoyable as ever, and some of the more minor actors such as David Threlfall and Adam Buxton also do well. And the many cameos (Bill Nighy, Steve Coogan, Bill Bailey, etc. etc.) mean Britcom buffs can squeal silly. There’s even an (alleged) very brief cameo for a (disguised) Peter Jackson, according to the internet rumours. So go see it.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 at 13:23:30 and is filed under General.