Hot Fuzz Film Review

Hot fuzz is set in the small remote village of Sandford and follows two main protagonists, Nicholas Angel and Danny Butterman. It starts by having Nicholas frost being sent to a remote village by his police force in London as he is an outstanding officer and is making them look bad. He is sent to the small village of Standford, which has won village of the year 4 years in a row, which appears to have no criminal violence or activity. 

During the film there are many great examples of the use of transitions and camera angles. During one scene where Nicholas Angel is travelling from London to Standford, there are many great cuts and sound effects which tells the audience how rural Nicholas is travelling but does it in a very funny way. During the film there are many examples of scenes like this where the audience gets an idea of what is going on throughout a travelling scene but is still made funny by the use of cutting and close ups as the scene progresses. Going back to the scene where Nicholas is travelling from London to Sandford there are loud, sharp sound effects which makes the scene very funny as the snap back from frames like this make it jarring. There are many examples of this where the director, Edgar Wright, is able to show great story telling and inform the audience but also make it funny. 

In many of Edgar wright’s films he has things entering and leaving the frame in funny ways. This is made most clear of in Hot Fuzz. The main protagonist, Nicholas Angel, often jumps over dramatically out of frame. A good example of this is when Nicholas and his companion Danny find a shed full of guns and a sea mine. The old farmer kicks the sea mine and it begins to tick. The officers and farmers sprint out of the barn and dramatically jump over a hedge just as the music climaxes. The music then falls silent and there is no explosion. The overdramatic jump and anti-climax is extremely funny and there are many points like this throughout the movie. Edgar wright does an amazing job of finding visual comedy in just the tiniest actions. When Nicholas is sitting at his desk at the station a piece of cake is pushed very close to his face and wiggled a bit in an exaggerated manner. Small little details like this make Hot Fuzz extremely funny.

The use of sound in Hot Fuzz is used particularly effectively throughout the entire movie. One character I want to talk about in particularly is Michael Armstrong. He is one of Simon Skinner’s henchmen, who only says one word ‘Yarp’. He is a very deadpan and emotionless character who rarely says anything other than Yarp. This use of speech is absolutely hilarious and makes his character one of the funniest within the movie. This is best highlighted in the fight scene between Nicholas and Michael. Throughout the entire fight Michael just says Yarp and it makes a normally dull fight scene excited and funny, also the fact that this character is dumb makes it very funny in the fight when Nicholas puts a teddy in front of him and he begins to look happy and warm, also a nursery rhyme sound effect plays and the scene becomes very funny. This brings me on to my next point which is perfectly timed sound effects. There are many examples of this throughout the movie that add great comedic value to a scene. There are some excellent scenes in which a sound effect is played and fits in with the style whilst also adding a bit of comedy.

In conclusion Hot Fuzz is a brilliant film in which comedy and great story telling is in perfect balance to create a hilarious and meaningful film. Edgar Wright’s use of visual comedy and storytelling make Hot Fuzz connect with an audience whilst also making it funny and interesting.