8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.6 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.6 |
Nicholas Angel, the finest cop in London, is so good that he makes everyone else look bad. So Angel's superiors send him to the sleepy village of Sandford, where he is partnered with Danny Butterman, a huge action movie fan. But Angel soon learns that Sandford is not what it seems. It's time for these small-town cops to break out some big-city justice.
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Timothy DaltonDark humor | 100% |
Action | 69% |
Crime | 65% |
Mystery | 40% |
Comedy | 35% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Bonus View (PiP)
BD-Live
D-Box
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
No, I have not ever fired my gun up in the air and gone 'ahhhh.'
How is this for a sobering statistic? According to IMDb.com, Shaun of the Dead
and Hot Fuzz -- two fantastic parodies done absolutely right -- grossed a paltry $13.4
million and $23.6 million in U.S. domestic gross, respectively, while Epic Movie raked
in $39.7 and the repulsive Meet the Spartans
just a bit less, coming in at $38.2 million. None of those numbers are Tiatnic-esque,
obviously, but it sends the message that moviegoers seem to be embracing lazy filmmaking,
eschewing artistic merit, smart scripts, and a command of the genre in general in favor of a
cheap laugh that's as fleeting as a glass of iced tea on a hot Texas afternoon. On the other side
of the ledger, hope is
somewhat restored with the fact that both Shaun and Hot Fuzz currently hold
an impressive 8.0/10 user rating on the site, while Epic flounders at 2.2/10 and
Spartans ranks slightly higher at 2.4/10. It's an interesting dichotomy to be sure, but at
least it appears in hindsight that the better movies of this quartet are getting their just due with
fans.
Eat your heart out, Keanu.
Hot Fuzz is promoted to Blu-ray with a high quality 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer. Colors look fantastic throughout; a character that audiences briefly meet at the beginning of the film, Jeanine (portrayed by Cate Blanchett), wears a bright blue dust mask that positively leaps off the screen, particularly against the white walls and biohazard gear she's wearing. Another example comes in chapter 12 with the bright yellow crime scene vests worn by the Sandford police officers as they investigate the scene of a brutal pair of deaths. Hot Fuzz isn't particularly grainy. It's visible in the background but appears about as light as can be without vanishing completely. Still, there's a superb amount of fine detail throughout, though it doesn't quite reach the level of "exceptional." Sandford's brick-laden streets look absolutely fantastic; faces reveal a good bit of texture but could stand to appear a bit more deep and natural; and foliage takes on a distinctive appearance rather than looking like a clump of green mass. Even the film's gore sparkles; a pair of severed heads on the pavement or a close-up of a charred body reveals incredible amounts of detail. Hot Fuzz's Blu-ray transfer takes on a fine sense of depth, particularly during outdoor scenes. Black levels aren't bad could but could stand to be a shade or two darker, and flesh tones generally look good even if they take on a slightly golden tint. Despite a few very minor complaints, Hot Fuzz looks fantastic on Blu-ray, the transfer serving up a very high quality and film-like appearance that should please viewers.
Hot Fuzz bursts onto Blu-ray with a high-octane DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack with a quality reminiscent of both Universal's best efforts and the best on the format from any studio. Hot Fuzz delivers a full surround presentation that's noticed even before the film's first image appears on-screen. The track produces a nearly deafening and room-filling audio presence as sirens blare into the soundstage to fantastic effect. This opening salvo is only the beginning; the following two hours deliver a nonstop assault of sonic delight: cars scream around the listening area, a low-flying helicopter roars overhead, and a train rushes through the soundstage to precision effect. Each and every loud sound effect comes to virtual life with startling clarity that's not hindered by the aggressive surround use or powerful volume at reference level. The track also excels at delivering more subtle sound effects, too, and the quieter scenes often feature a realistic background atmosphere. Angel's voiceover at the beginning of the film booms, but dialogue evens out for the rest of the picture with absolutely no technical issues to hinder its crisp and natural delivery. Hot Fuzz's final act is littered with gunshots; each one explodes with a full-blown presence, the shots emanating from every speaker and allowing the listener to feel positively engulfed in the mayhem. For reference- and grin-inducing purposes, they don't come much better than Hot Fuzz on Blu-ray.
Hot Fuzz makes its highly-anticipated Blu-ray debut with an absolutely enormous
collection of extras, the
package headlined by a whopping eight (really 5+1+2, more on that later) commentary
tracks. The
first features Writer/Actor Simon Pegg and Writer/Director Edgar Wright. It's a great track to
start things off; the two clearly enjoy the opportunity to sit down together and discuss Hot
Fuzz in an informative but none-too-serious manner. The track is easy to digest and
generally fun to listen to. They cover the expected angles -- including a nice discussion on their
study of movie clichés for use in the film -- but with a natural, easygoing flair that
makes this track a must-listen for fans. The Sandford Police Service: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim
Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Kevin Eldon, and Olivia Colman populate track number two. The group
commentary almost by rule takes on a humorous tone with plenty of goofy insights and
observations and lighthearted anecdotes from the set. They do fairly well to not excessively
speak over one another, but there's plenty of laughter throughout and this one makes for a nice
listen for
the film's most ardent, "seen it three dozen times" fans. The third track features Writer/Director
Edgar Wright and Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill). Perhaps
the silliest of all the offerings, this one often falls off-task but is nevertheless a great listen.
Wright and Tarantino
come off as two of the most enthusiastic filmmakers in the business and have a great time
discussing the Buddy Cop genre, the integration of the clichés into the film, and plenty more.
The Sandford Village People: Kenneth Cranham, Timothy Dalton, Paul Freeman, & Edward
Woodward comprise the cast of commentary track number four. Taking almost a minute and a
half to get going, it becomes clear early on that this is to be one of the lesser of the quintet of
primary
tracks. Dalton, no surprise, dominates, and while there's some fine tidbits here, it's best left for a
rainy afternoon with nothing better to do. The final full-length commentary features "The Real
Fuzz:" Andy Leafe & Nick Eckland. This duo are real-life rural England cops who aided in the
research for the script. Moving past the full-length tracks and digging into the video-based extras
first yields The Fuzzball Rally -- Uncut (480p, 1:11:09). This lengthy supplement follows
Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost as they promote Hot Fuzz on a four-week,
10-city tour. This piece also comes with an optional commentary (the "+1"
commentary) with
Wright, Pegg, Frost, & Joe Cornish. Hot Fuzz is also BonusView (Blu-ray profile 1.1)
enabled with Universal's U-Control functionality. There are two separate video tracks available.
The first, Fuzz-o-Meter, is a pop-up trivia track that conveys much of the same
information as found in any of the various commentaries. The second, Storyboards,
simply
showcases a collection of hand-drawn storyboards as they relate to the finished product in each
scene.
The Evidence Room is a massive collection of shorter extras, broken down into six
sub-categories, many with their own assorted collection of materials. Conclusive: We Made
'Hot
Fuzz' (480p, 29:34), is a making-of piece that features cast and crew discussing the many
facets of the project both on the set and off, coupled with an impressive array of
behind-the-scenes footage. Speculative: Video Blogs (480p, 29:55) contains 13 short
segments that take viewers into the nitty-gritty of the filmmaking process, looking at costuming,
physical training, life on the set, make-up, and much more. Forensic: Featurettes
(480p, 44:54) is an eight-part feature that contains even more behind-the-scenes production
materials, focusing on set design, the filmmakers' relatives, and the varied shooting techniques
and camera rigs, among other tidbits. Photographic: Galleries offers both a Poster Gallery
and a Photo Gallery, each presented in 1080p high definition. Hearsay: Plot Holes &
Comparisons (480p, 3:23) is separated into two sections. Plot Holes, itself divided
into three segments, fills in the gaps of a few scenes through a collection of hand-drawn comic
book images, narrated by the actors who play the characters central to each scene. The second
half of Hearsay: Plot Holes & Comparisons, Special Effects: Before & After (480p,
6:21), is an eight-part feature that examines the various stages of completion for some of the
film's special effects shots. Rounding out The Evidence Room is Falsified: 'Dead
Right', Edgar Wright's first Cop movie. The feature itself, from 1993, (480p, 40:12), was
made when he was 18 years old and was shot on S-VHS. The piece begins with the Director
introducing the picture. Also included here is AM BLAM: Making 'Dead Right' (480p,
10:29), a retrospective piece with Edgar Wright speaking on how the film came to be. Also
available are two commentary tracks for Dead Right (the "+2" tracks),
the first with Edgar Wright and the second with Wright and Simon Pegg.
Moving on down the list, viewers will find The Man Who Would Be Fuzz (480p, 0:34), a
piece that doesn't seem to have a real point (that observation influenced, perhaps at this
juncture of the review,
by fatigue). Hot Funk (480p, 3:43) features several scenes reshot for television without
foul language. Danny's Notebook: The Other Side (480p, 0:21) features the flip
animation drawings that are found on the reverse side of Danny's police notebook. Additional
Video Blogs contains a pair of segments: VW Blogs (480p, 21:29), a collection of five
Internet Blogs sponsored by Volkswagen: 4 Cars, Meet the Makers, Join the
Fuzz, In for Questioning, and On Duty. The Second half of Additional
Video Blogs, iTunes Blogs, is a collection of four podcasts (480p, 16:30). Also
included on the disc is a collection of 11 Storyboard Galleries presented in 1080p high definition --
Extreme Service, Administrative Decision, Hard Goodbye, Tough
Distance, Deep Evening, Sudden Morning, Village Force, Avian
Breakout, Maximum Running, and Sham Dram. Moving along, viewers will
find Inadmissible: Deleted Scenes (480p, 20:37), a collection
of 22 deleted scenes with option commentary from Director Edgar Wright. Also included is a
collection of Outtakes (480p,
10:22) and several advertisements for the film: the theatrical trailer (480p, 2:33), two UK TV
spots (480p, 0:33 each), and the Director's Cut trailer (480p, 0:59). This Blu-ray release of
Hot Fuzz is also BD-Live enabled, accessible under the
"What's
New"
tab on the main menu screen, and D-Box equipped.
Hot Fuzz is truly an Action lover's delight, a film that not only nails every attempt to poke fun at the genre but along the way manages to create an Action film bathed in cliché but stronger even than many of the movies its tackles along the way. Besides some sluggish pacing here and there through the middle act, there's little-to-nothing wrong with Hot Fuzz; it delivers a big movie experience on a relative shoestring budget and is supported by a collection of top-notch performances that make a great script extraordinary. Universal's Blu-ray release befits the high quality of the film. Sporting a strong 1080p transfer, a reference-quality lossless soundtrack, and a heaping helping of commentary tracks and additional extras that will exhaust even the most ardent fan of supplemental features, Hot Fuzz is a must-own Blu-ray and comes very highly recommended.
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