by Karyn L. Beach

Fans of the horror/romantic comedy Shaun of the Dead have been looking forward to Hot Fuzz, the next movie from writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (Wright also directs and Pegg stars). It's a clever send-up of American action films that is funny, gory, sweet and action-packed, all at once. Fans of Shaun will not be disappointed.

Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is a dedicated London police officer who has a wall full of commendations and an outstanding arrest record. In fact, he's so good at his job that he's made the rest of the London force look bad. So, they decide to ship him off to Sandford, a quiet village in the English countryside known for its gardens and its title as the Best Village in England. In Sandford, their idea of crime is a missing swan. Angel's new partner, Danny (Nick Frost), son of the local police chief, gets his notion of police work from films like Point Break and Bad Boys II. Just when the lack of action and the casual aire of the Sandford police threaten to drive him crazy, a string of unfortunate accidents gets Angel's attention. They seem to him like murders but no one, not even the police, take him seriously, though the evidence is staring them in the face.

Hot Fuzz is a parody of all those action buddy-cop films and the entire third act is a send-up of over-the-top action and gun fire. Jerry Bruckheimer would be proud! Pegg, as in Shaun, plays the straight man who remains serious as ridiculousness abounds around him. Nick Frost plays his foil here, as he did in Shaun. The buddy movie is always about the 'odd couple'. Here it's a seasoned accomplished detective (Pegg) being paired with the sweet, well-meaning yet inept partner (Frost). Yet over time, a genuine friendship forms.There is no romantic story line here but the relation that grows between the partners is sweet.

While Hot Fuzz is a parody, it's not a parody in the sense of a Scary Movie. This movie is more subtle. Instead of stringing together a bunch of funny scenes and calling it a movie, they weave the parody into a story that gets increasingly preposterous. There are many laugh-out-loud moments as well as a few surprisingly gory ones (there are some nasty death scenes).

Particularly good in his supporting role was Timothy Dalton, a former James Bond, who played a local business owner with a deliciously sinister side. He has a knack for showing up at crime scenes and making comments that implies he knows much more than a passer by.

The third act was all action, gun-fights, explosions and car chases. It's very funny ... and very long. I started feel the drag towards the end, however, the audience I was with seemed to be along for the ride, and laughing out loud, until the credits rolled.