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Hot Fuzz
Rogue Pictures

Hot Fuzz reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 81 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.5 out of 10
based on 37 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 192 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for violent content including some graphic images, and language

Starring Simon Pegg, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Robert Popper, Joe Cornish, Chris Waitt, Eric Mason, and Billie Whitelaw

In this action-packed comedy from the makers of "Shaun of the Dead," Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is the finest police officer London has to offer, with an arrest record 400% higher than any other officer on the force. He's so good, he makes everyone else look bad. As a result, Angel's superiors send him to a place where his talents won't be quite so embarrassing -- the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford. A small village is about to get some big city justice. (Rogue Pictures)


GENRE(S): Action  |  Comedy  |  Crime  |  Foreign  
WRITTEN BY: Simon Pegg
Edgar Wright
 
DIRECTED BY: Edgar Wright  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: July 31, 2007 
Theatrical: April 20, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 121 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: UK 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The good humor bubbles up from a deep reservoir of affection for Hollywood schlock.
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100
Time Richard Corliss
The best, surely the smartest, English-language movie of the year to date.
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91
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
It's not hard to imagine these characters in a straight-faced Hollywood blockbuster. And that's the source of Hot Fuzz's genius, pointing out the thin line that separates convention from farce when Hollywood starts throwing its special effects around.
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91
The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Everything an action-comedy should be. It achieves through parody what most films in the genre can't accomplish straight.
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91
Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
In addition to the marvelous lead cast, all sorts of funny performers show up in cameo roles, including Steve Coogan, Bill Nighy, and Timothy Dalton.
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90
LA Weekly Scott Foundas
For most of its running time, it's an enjoyably unpretentious celebration of the guilty pleasure we can take from a stupid-as-all-get-out car chase or from watching things blow up real good. Then, in its final half hour, Wright and Pegg ratchet up the absurdity tenfold and enter the realm of the sublime.
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90
Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
Wright and Pegg are storytellers who weave their naughty bits into genuine characters and a plot. It's a ridiculous plot, but one that's absolutely in the spirit of the films they're satirizing.
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90
Newsweek David Ansen
Summer hasn't arrived, but the funniest riff on a summer movie genre has already landed.
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88
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
It's as laceratingly entertaining as its predecessor.
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88
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Pegg and Wright are armed with an endlessly impressive arsenal of attention grabbers, from witty editing tricks to a wry soundtrack and a joke-packed script that demands multiple viewings.
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88
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
If you see Hot Fuzz, you'll never again watch a Michael Bay film without howling with disrespectful laughter.
Read Full Review
83
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
In the very funny cop comedy Hot Fuzz, overachieving London police officer Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) commits a very British sin: He's too good.
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83
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Hot Fuzz is something all too rare in movie comedies: a story rather than a string of disjointed skits, with hearty characters behind its caricatures.
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83
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
It's smashing fun, nonetheless, made with razor wit and continual invention and far, far fresher than not only Hollywood buddy-cop movies but also Hollywood's own spoofs of them.
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80
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
At once deeply affectionate and sharply observed: There's never anything smart-alecky about Wright's approach as a director.
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80
Slate Dana Stevens
Really, do we need another dumb action movie to remind us how dumb action movies are?...Yes. We absolutely do.
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80
Empire Olly Richards
The boys (now in blue) have done it again.
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80
The New Yorker Anthony Lane
The whole enterprise goes far beyond pastiche, wreathing its characters in a film-intoxicated world.
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80
Variety Derek Elley
A sustained genre parody that's equally funny but (maybe in deference to the genre) much more pumped up.
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80
Village Voice Robert Wilonsky
A British variation on Hollywood nonsense, and as such it's a little gloomier, a little coarser, and a lot more cerebral--oh, and funnier than all the "Reno 911!" boxed sets combined.
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80
Film Threat Felix Vasquez, Jr.
The thrill of Hot Fuzz is the chemistry between Nicholas and local oaf Danny Butterman, who is an action film aficionado and finds Nicholas' stories utterly engrossing.
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80
The New York Times Manohla Dargis
Since Mr. Wright and Mr. Pegg are essentially parodying self-parodies, they have also smartly kinked up their conceit by setting most of the film in a sleepy village that might as well be called Ye Old English Towne, thereby wedding one of the most irritating British exports to one of the most absurd American ones. Think of it as "The Full Monty" blown to smithereens.
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78
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
The most originally funny movie to hit U.S. screens in a while.
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75
Premiere Glenn Kenny
Deeply nuts and exhaustingly hilarious.
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75
ReelViews James Berardinelli
A little too long and suffers from a sagging midsection when the level of exposition becomes laborious, but the spectacularly entertaining final 30 minutes compensates for a lot of flaws.
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75
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
It's a blast.
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75
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
The best of it is a riot--a "Bad Boys II" fireball hurled with exquisite accuracy at a quaint English town peopled by Agatha Christie archetypes.
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75
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
It's bloody carnage - or it's ketchup, or bolognese sauce, at the very least.
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75
Boston Globe Ty Burr
It's to the "Lethal Weapon" movies what left-hand driving on a country lane is to a freeway chase: pokey, more than a little daft, but with a bloody surprise around every hedge.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
Plays like two films in one, and succeeds on both levels.
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75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
With Hot Fuzz, you'll just have to settle for semi-hilarity.
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75
New York Post Kyle Smith
A real actioner, generous with the bullets and blood and chase scenes, that simultaneously mocks shoot-'em-ups.
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70
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Hot Fuzz deploys the same mix of genre conventions, slapstick and old-school British humor that made "Shaun of the Dead" such a dumb-but-good romp.
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70
New York Magazine David Edelstein
Hot Fuzz is fun, and it's nice to see all the English character actors who aren't busy in Harry Potter films, but it lacks its predecessor's freshness.
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63
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
Basically a one-joke movie, and they take their sweet time -- too much of it, actually -- getting to the good stuff. But what excellent laughs they provide in the end.
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63
USA Today Claudia Puig
Though it's no "Monty Python," Hot Fuzz is a clever, over-the-top marriage of mayhem and merriment.
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60
The Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett
All the action is staged with energy, but it gets relentless without anything really funny going on.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 192 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mutt D. gave it a10:
Incredible action comedy which manages to both lavish, lampoon, and love the genre while also managing to distinguish itself from it's counterparts.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
A humorous action comedy send up. The motto is, we all need more action in our lives.

Arthur O. gave it a10:
First of all, give this view at least a second viewing. Once you do that you can much better appreciate how great this movie is. I can easily see why some reviews have Hot Fuzz in the mediocre range. That's because this is a completely different sort of film than we are accustomed to in the US. Comedies are formulaic and you "feel" when they try to make you laugh, even when the jokes or gags don't hit. This gives the average person the impression that the movie is funnier than what they actually laugh at. Most of the humor in Hot Fuzz is done subtly. There are laughs to be had every minute of this movie when you understand why it is funny. Much of this subtly is hidden in the main storyline itself. Yes, the plot is believable as is the action. Many will say "that's impossible" several times. However, the plot walks a very delicate line between being a far fetched action plot and using considerable satire. It's the way that it mixes little satirical bits and other jokes you have to think about with slapstick and mindless comedy that makes it so funny. It's not just about the comedy, though. The action is always entertaining, especially the incredible last half hour. Entertaining and funny all the way through, the film still manages to craft genuine characters that you actually care about. The end also left me inspired more than the typical cliche Hollywood formula. If you take the time to find all the hidden comedic gems Hot Fuzz has to offer, it just may the best movie you have seen, as it is mine. There is more than enough, though, for those expecting a dumb action comedy to have fun. But either way, we need more movies like this. We need more movies made by people who have a true passion for the art. More movies that are this multidimensional and that get all of them right. We need more movies like Hot Fuzz.

Max C. gave it a9:
This is a great movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. While being made by the same people as Shaun of the Dead, it is not the same kind of humor and really shouldn't be compared with. This is an english spoof of cop movies, while the other is a spoof of zombie movies. Not exactly comparable. Anyway, see this movie and Shaun of the Dead, then the next movie they make, which I believe has something to do with a spoof of space invaders or something.

Matt L gave it a6:
Overall, I was disappointed by the movie. As a huge Shaun of the Dead fan, I had high expectations. Unfortunately, while Hot Fuzz follows the same path Shaun did, it fails to incorporate a strong affinity towards the characters. The side characters especially are weak. Still worth seeing, but don't expect it to be as good as Shaun of the Dead ever was.

abby l gave it a10:
This movie was so good and ridiculously funny.

R. D. gave it a9:
I only looked at my watch once when it started to drag slightly about 40 minutes from the end... at which point it ramped up steeply to a fantastic finish. Worth your attention. I rated Shaun of the Dead a "10".

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