It’s hard to follow up Shaun Of The Dead. One of the most innovative black-parodies ever created, not to mention one of the funniest comedies in a very long time.
Writing duo Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright return again for their special brand of fun-poking genre-comedy, this time focused on buddy cop films and again directed by Wright. With firepower instead of pool-cues this time, it manages to chase hot-on-the-heels of Shaun’s laugh-counter, and makes a brilliant return to comedy for stars Pegg and Nick Frost.
It all takes place in small-town Sandford, Gloucestor. A rural town where not much happens (except that it seems to be populated by a who’s-who of British comedy), Constable Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is sent to be the new Seargent when his London superiors realise that his excellent abilities as a police officer are making the rest of the service look bad by comparison.
But all is not as it seems in idyllic Sandford…
Taking all the best parts of action cinema and turning it on its head, the film swerves between clever nods and out-and-out plagiarism, but always with a genial respect melded with the piss-taking. Frost’s PC Butterman, Angel’s small-town partner, is a delightfully stupid foil to Pegg’s straight-laced, straight-faced Seargeant, providing most of the laughs. The supporting cast are also brilliant – Timothy Dalton’s oily supermarket magnate is a standout, as is the motley crew of coppers (headed by Jim Broadbent), and Bill Nighy’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo as London’s Chief Inspector.
Wright has turned the hallmarks of Shaun into his own personal trademarks. Apart from being filled with in-jokes (Cornetto, anyone?), the director is developing a recognisable style, populated by graphic matches, whooshing scene-changes, and frenetic cutting.
It’s politically incorrect, offensive, and fantastically violent (it’s an action movie by the zombie guys! What did you expect?), but apart from a slight lag in the middle, it’s a laugh-a-minute extravaganza of some of the best comedy ever to be committed to film.
Writing duo Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright return again for their special brand of fun-poking genre-comedy, this time focused on buddy cop films and again directed by Wright. With firepower instead of pool-cues this time, it manages to chase hot-on-the-heels of Shaun’s laugh-counter, and makes a brilliant return to comedy for stars Pegg and Nick Frost.
It all takes place in small-town Sandford, Gloucestor. A rural town where not much happens (except that it seems to be populated by a who’s-who of British comedy), Constable Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is sent to be the new Seargent when his London superiors realise that his excellent abilities as a police officer are making the rest of the service look bad by comparison.
But all is not as it seems in idyllic Sandford…
Taking all the best parts of action cinema and turning it on its head, the film swerves between clever nods and out-and-out plagiarism, but always with a genial respect melded with the piss-taking. Frost’s PC Butterman, Angel’s small-town partner, is a delightfully stupid foil to Pegg’s straight-laced, straight-faced Seargeant, providing most of the laughs. The supporting cast are also brilliant – Timothy Dalton’s oily supermarket magnate is a standout, as is the motley crew of coppers (headed by Jim Broadbent), and Bill Nighy’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo as London’s Chief Inspector.
Wright has turned the hallmarks of Shaun into his own personal trademarks. Apart from being filled with in-jokes (Cornetto, anyone?), the director is developing a recognisable style, populated by graphic matches, whooshing scene-changes, and frenetic cutting.
It’s politically incorrect, offensive, and fantastically violent (it’s an action movie by the zombie guys! What did you expect?), but apart from a slight lag in the middle, it’s a laugh-a-minute extravaganza of some of the best comedy ever to be committed to film.
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