Hot Stuff

On Friday I went to the cinema with a bunch of friends. We went to see the new Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright movie, Hot Fuzz. Although it has been in the cinema since Wednesday, that was the proper start, and the cinema was packed!

But a good review should always start at the begining, so:

Trailers!
Spider-Man 3
I'm really looking forward to seeing this. Watching the full trailer again on the big screen was a thrill. I've seen this trailer before online, and it's great. Some more story elements, more shots of the main villians, the black costume, the action. All great. I like the "homemade" look to Harry Osborns costume, with a simple mask and armour. Though the new board he uses screams of "Tony Hawks" street-cred. I'm sure it will be fine. Actually, so long as Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn at some point, either as a flashback or another crazy vision from Harry, the movie can do no wrong. He was incredible in Spider-Man, and the best thing about Spider-Man 2.

Transformers
What's better than watching the Spider-Man trailer at the start of a movie? Having it followed immediately by the Transformers movie trailer. Sweet! This is the new one with lots of shots of the 'Formers in action, so to speak, as well as some close-ups on the human element of the story. Again, it's been online for a while now, so you may have seen it. This too looks impressive. I'm totally in agreement with the updating of the franchise and the 'Bots themselves. I love the new look. I admit that Transformers was never my toy as a kid, so I have no real attachment to the classic style. However, if this happened to GI Joe, I would be equally as happy. In fact, I pray every night for this to happen to GI Joe. The Devils Due comics rock, why can't we get a movie too!! Er... that's a little off topic. Suffice it to say, the Transformer movie trailer gets me all tingly inside.

Now, the main event.

Actually, even if this movie turned out to be rubbish, having seen those two trailers back-to-back, without any other trailers shown to take from their glory, this would have been a good trip to the cinema. However, that wasn't the case. Instead Spider-Man, Transformers, Ghost Rider, Shrek, Fantastic Four and all the rest due this year have a very high bar to reach now. I think this movie may well be the film of the year for me!!

Ok. Yes. I have been know to exaggerate. Sometimes. Eh. Yea. A lot. So why should you trust me now? Because I wasn't alone.

I've been to movies where, as the closing credits begin to fade in after the final scene, the crowd claps. Everyone acknowledges the work of the people involved and give a rousing clap to show their appreciation. That's nice. I know that in America, this is not uncommon, and in fact, people even clap during the movie to show their approval. Now that was something I had never witnessed here in Ireland.

Until Hot Fuzz.

Not only was the whole cinema rocking with laughter, but there was regular bouts of widespread clapping from the audience throughout the show! It was an incredible feeling. The energy in the room, the joy and laughter, the pure emotion of happiness from everyone. It was clear that this was a special event that we were all a part of. A magical movie experience shared by everyone present. It was, simply, great.

I'm not going to go on much more about the movie. There are hundreds of movie review sites out there if you want to see what people think of it. I just want to point out some of the things that I loved.

Obviously, the acting, writing and directing were all spot on. Everyone was incredible. It was a joy to see Timothy Dalton on the big screen again, and he was superb. But the things that struck me as extraordinary were the editing and the camera-work, both of which I would imagine fall under the directors watchful eye.

Scenes were edited together seamlessly, with some stunning little tricks and florishes thrown in. Watch the scenes around when Nick and Danny walk a local home after a night of drinking to see some great examples, but there are loads more throughout the movie. Without giving any spoilers, I also love the flashback scene where the flashbacks are shown in reverse. A great and unique technique that is handled masterfully.

I also love all the references within the movie. All sorts of things are either mentioned, quoted, refered to, directly shown or simply subtly hinted at. See if you can spot the fantastic RoboCop shot! I know some of the people I saw Hot Fuzz with didn't spot it, but again, it's expertly done. While you're at it, see if you can spot the blatantly clear Spaced reference that I totally missed. It's from one of the best episdoes of that series (weren't they all?!?), and I'm ashamed to admit I didn't spot it.

All in all, Hot Fuzz was far beyond my expectations. It is unfair to compare it with the crews other movie, Shaun of the Dead, as the humour and style are drastically different. Again, I'm being very biased here, but I feel that, having seen Shaun once I have no inclination to watch it again, nor own it on DVD. Hot Fuzz on the other hand, is a far more enjoyable movie for me. I would happily go see it in the cinema again if I got the chance, and have to get it on DVD around it's release, if not on the first day! I admit that I enjoy action movies more than zombie flicks, so that influences those comments on the two.

In conclusion, the trailers rocked, but the movie rocked more. I loved it, but that doesn't mean everyone will. Then again, the rest of the cinema reacted very positively to it, so maybe it has universal appeal! Whatever, I assure you it comes highly recommended from this "critic"!

EDIT: I wrote this originally back on Friday night, as soon as I got home from the cinema. But then I realised that posting it at that point would make it my 100th post, and I didn't want that. Thus, I'm only posting it now. Sorry.