Hot Fuzz

Did any of you see "Shaun of the Dead?" If so, you won't be a bit surprised with this latest effort by the same creative team.

This is a not-at-all-subtle comic homage to shoot-em-ups like "Point Break" and other over-the-top police dramas of that ilk. In fact two of the characters watch a couple of those videos just to make sure you don't miss some key moments.

Our main character is a London policeman who is absolutely gung-ho. He makes the most arrests, has the most convictions, has the fastest running track score, is the best pistol marksman, is separated from his wife....you get the picture. He is an irreproachable and dedicated cop, but his personal life is in the toilet.

He is promoted and transferred to a tiny village far, far away from London because he has been making the rest of the police force look bad by comparison. His predecessor in this picturesque village far, far away, had suffered a nervous breakdown and had to take an early retirement. This tiny village has won annual awards for its reputation as the cleanest, prettiest and most crime-free village in all of England. The village fathers and mothers take great pride in their accomplishments.

You will enjoy seeing the former, former James Bond, Timothy Dalton ("Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights") as one of the prominent businessmen in the village, while Jim Broadbent ("Bridget Jones' Diary," "Iris," and "Moulin Rouge!") is the police chief.

Our dauntless hero is immediately confronted by a grisly car crash which he instantly construes as murder. His fellow police officers, the detectives and the police chief all agree that it was a tragic accident and close the case.

Now we get to watch him uncover crime after crime, only to have each crime solved and closed because it was NOT a crime, it was just an accident and the tiny village keeps its pristine reputation intact. He becomes more and more overwrought and finally, in total frustration, arms himself to the teeth; he WILL clean up this cesspool or know the reason why! He even chews on a matchstick (or toothpick) to show us how manly and determined he is!

The awesome firepower and the stylized gun battle is hilarious. Every gunshot is so thunderous that it shakes the theater. The camera shots deliberately echo those of classic gun fights from well-known movies. Every cut is a slash cut that is almost a slam. You are pummeled by sounds, scenes and shots...none of which ever touch our hero, and only wound...never kill, mind you... WOUND and incapacitate his opponents. By the time his erstwhile partner frantically pumps three slugs into the air, the audience is anticipating it and shouts with glee...(you had to be there).

Okay. Lots of noise. Lots of gore. Lots of guns. Lots of laughs. Lots of fun. Make up your own mind.