HOT FUZZ — *** — Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent; rated R (violence, gore, profanity, vulgarity, brief drugs, brief nudity).
The buddy-cop picture "Hot Fuzz" is so tongue-in-cheek that at times it nearly chokes.
The film is as much a thriller as it is a comedy — and it's surprisingly gory and violent.
Still, it does have several enjoyable aspects and is sure to appeal to fans of action thrillers, as well as devotees of "Shaun of the Dead," the zombie/romantic comedy hit from 2004.
The same folks behind that film have re-teamed for this one, including co-writer/star Simon Pegg, who stars as Nicholas Angel, a London police constable who's all business.
In fact, Angel takes his job so seriously that he's making his fellow cops look bad. So his superiors transfer him to Sandford, a quaint hamlet that's been described by the locals as "the safest village in the country."
However, Angel finds Sandford to be anything but safe. Within days of his arrival, several residents turn up dead, and the no-nonsense constable suspects they were murdered.
As he was in "Shaun," Pegg is paired here with Nick Frost, who plays an enthusiastic but bungling Sandford cop. Their goofy chemistry sparks the film's best bits.
Surprisingly, the slight Pegg is convincing as a tough guy, though it may be the quick-cut editing and Edgar Wright's energetic direction that sell the idea.
It's also fun to play spot-the-stars — the supporting cast includes British veterans Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Bill Nighy, Edward Woodward, Anne Reid and others, including Steve Coogan, who shows up in a cameo. Cameos are also offered by a nearly unrecognizable Cate Blanchett and New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson — uncredited.
"Hot Fuzz" is rated R for strong scenes of violence (shootings, stabbings, beheadings, vehicular mayhem and explosive mayhem), some fairly graphic gore, strong sexual language (profanity and crude slang terms), brief drug references, and brief glimpses of a nude prop. Running time: 121 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com