Hot Fuzz ** 1/2

I loved Shaun of the Dead. I was expecting this movie to be just as good, only while lampooning the buddy-cop genre instead of the zombie genre. I didn't enjoy it as much, but it was still good.

The premise is that the main character (the Shaun of the Dead guy) is a supercop in London. He lives and breathes police work. He has the police manual memorized cover-to-cover. He is so good, in fact, that he is making all the other cops look bad, so they transfer him to a sleepy hamlet. There, he uncovers nefarious goings-on, and hilarity ensues.

It's a great setup, and it works pretty well, but it didn't seem like it was firing on all cylinders. The script was good, but not quite as sharp as Shaun. My favorite bits are the interactions between the supercop and the small-town cop he's paired with who idolizes him. In one scene, the small-town cop asks him, "Why did you become a policeman?" Supercop corrects him, saying, "The correct term is 'officer.' There are female officers as well as male." So then the small-town cop asks, "Why did you become a policeman officer?" It's endearing little bits like that that I enjoyed the most.

I recommend seeing it, but don't expect Shaun of the Dead II. Expect a light, entertaining movie and you should be satisfied. Or netflix it--it would be a perfect rental.