Hot Fuzz

British film. It conjures up images of kitchen sinks, Albert Finney swearing and dour Northern towns shot from the top of a hill. It most certainly does not involve explosions, car chases and homo-erotic buddy relationships. But why shouldn't it? Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg think it should.

Hot Fuzz takes a similar approach to filmmaking as Shaun Of The Dead did. Take a very non-British style of film and apply it to a British setting, making no concessions to style in the process. Shaun brought Romero's zombie invasions to London, Fuzz invites Michael Bay, John Woo and Tony Scott to guest direct episodes of Midsomer Murders, with all the carnage and bloody violence in a rural setting you'd expect.

The overriding feel of Hot Fuzz is fun. Everyone involved is clearly having a bawl, goofing about or hamming it up when they're required to act and then blowing the shit out of an idyllic town in the west country for no other reason than it's a blast to do it.

Every action movie cliche is in there, from Woo's doves to the obligatory "suiting-up" with guns scene. A big part of the enjoyment of Hot Fuzz is spotting every reference, no matter how obvious or obscure.

Of course it has it's problems, the major one being that it's a bit too long, but then again it is a movie poking fun at over-blown action epics so the fact that some of the excess fat hasn't been trimmed does make sense.

Hot Fuzz raises a great point about the nature of British cinema, as did Shaun of the Dead, why does it all have to be so worthy and dour? Scottish film especially suffers from this, note the rejection of funding for that Glasgow ninja movie. But cinema's strengths lie in its variety. It can raise some pertinent issues and make you think or it can feature a British cop flykicking a farmer's Mum. Both are great in their own ways and there is no reason why Britain can't do both. Danny Boyle has demonstrated that for over a decade, even if he does get Hollywood funding because we're too tight. Wright and Pegg have shown that it can be done successfully, not just artistically but commercially as well. We have them to thank for making British cinema fun, and for making British action films that don't feature cockney gangster twats.