ⓘ Details

Movie TitleHot Fuzz

Release DateFebruary 14, 2007 in the United Kingdom / April 20, 2007 in the United States

TaglineBig cops. Small town. Moderate violence.

Runtime121 minutes / 2 hours 1 minute

DirectorEdgar Wright

Screenplay Written ByEdgar Wright and Simon Pegg

Based OnOriginal screenplay inspired by buddy-cop action films and British village murder mysteries

Is It a Remake?No. It is an original action-comedy and the second film in the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy.

BudgetApproximately $12 million to $16 million

Box OfficeApprox. $23.6 million domestic / approx. $80.6 million worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

Simon PeggSergeant Nicholas Angel

Nick FrostPC Danny Butterman

Jim BroadbentInspector Frank Butterman

Timothy DaltonSimon Skinner

Olivia ColmanPC Doris Thatcher

Paddy ConsidineDS Andy Wainwright

Rafe SpallDC Andy Cartwright

Kevin EldonSergeant Tony Fisher

Karl JohnsonPC Bob Walker

Bill BaileySergeant Turner

Edward WoodwardTom Weaver

Bill NighyMet Chief Inspector

Martin FreemanMet Sergeant

Steve CooganMet Inspector

Peter WightRoy Porter

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Empire Award Winner — Best Comedy

⭐ Empire Award Winner — Best Actor, Simon Pegg

⭐ British Comedy Award Nominee — Best Comedy Film

⭐ National Movie Award Nominee — Best Comedy

⭐ No Academy Award nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No Golden Globe nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ IMDb lists the film with 2 wins and 9 nominations.

⭐ Its real trophy is cult status as one of the sharpest, most rewatchable action-comedies of the 2000s.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

Nicholas Angel is such an effective London police officer that he makes everyone else look bad, so his superiors transfer him to the quiet village of Sandford. At first, Sandford seems painfully dull, and his new partner Danny Butterman is more interested in action movies than actual policing. But when a series of gruesome “accidents” begins piling up around town, Angel suspects something much darker is hiding beneath the village’s perfect flower baskets and friendly smiles. What starts as a fish-out-of-water comedy slowly turns into a full-blown buddy-cop shootout, complete with conspiracies, shotguns, swans, and the greater good.

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❝ Key Quotes

“The greater good.” — Sandford residents

“Yarp.” — Michael Armstrong

“No luck catching them swans then?” — Danny Butterman

“It’s just the one swan, actually.” — Nicholas Angel

“You ain’t seen Bad Boys II?” — Danny Butterman

“By the power of Greyskull!” — Nicholas Angel

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💡 Trivia

Director

Hot Fuzz was directed by Edgar Wright.
Wright co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Pegg.
The film is the second entry in the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, after Shaun of the Dead and before The World’s End.
Wright and Pegg watched and referenced a huge number of action movies while developing the script.
The movie combines rapid-fire editing, visual punchlines, foreshadowing, genre parody, mystery plotting, and sincere action-movie love.

Cast / Casting

Simon Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, the hyper-competent police officer punished for being too good at his job.
Nick Frost plays Danny Butterman, a sweet-natured action-movie fan who finally gets the partner and movie moment he always wanted.
Jim Broadbent plays Frank Butterman, Danny’s father and Sandford’s local police inspector.
Timothy Dalton plays Simon Skinner, the supermarket manager who is aggressively charming and suspiciously pointy with his dialogue.
Olivia Colman appears as PC Doris Thatcher, years before her later Oscar-winning fame.
Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman, and Steve Coogan make brief appearances as Nicholas Angel’s London superiors.

Soundtrack / Score

David Arnold composed the film’s score.
The soundtrack includes songs by artists such as Supergrass, The Kinks, XTC, The Fratellis, and Adam Ant.
Arnold’s score leans into big action-movie energy, making Sandford feel hilariously overqualified for explosions and slow-motion shotgun walks.
The music helps the movie shift from sleepy village comedy to full buddy-cop chaos without losing the joke.
The soundtrack also reinforces the film’s British identity while parodying Hollywood action spectacle.

Location

The fictional village of Sandford was filmed mainly in Wells, Somerset, England.
Edgar Wright grew up in Wells, which helped shape the film’s affectionate but brutal small-town satire.
Principal photography took place over roughly eleven weeks.
Real Wells locations were used for the town square, streets, shops, and village atmosphere.
The movie turns picture-postcard England into the last place you would expect to see a full-on action-movie gunfight, which is exactly why it works.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film was produced by Nira Park, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner.
It was produced by Working Title Films and Big Talk Productions.
Universal Pictures handled international distribution, while Rogue Pictures released it in North America.
The reported budget was approximately $12 million to $16 million.
Box Office Mojo lists the worldwide gross at $80,577,265.
The film opened in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2007, and in the United States on April 20, 2007.

Nostalgia

Hot Fuzz is one of the most beloved action-comedies of the 2000s.
It works because it mocks action-movie clichés while also being a genuinely well-built action movie.
For fans of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost, this may be the tightest and most rewatchable entry in the Cornetto Trilogy.
The movie rewards repeat viewings because almost every joke, line, prop, and background detail pays off later.
It also makes village council meetings, model villages, and supermarket managers feel way more dangerous than they have any right to be.

Easter Eggs

The film references and spoofs buddy-cop action movies like Point Break and Bad Boys II.
The recurring swan gag becomes one of the movie’s most satisfying payoffs.
Nearly every “accident” is foreshadowed before it happens.
The Neighborhood Watch Alliance’s repeated phrase “the greater good” becomes the creepiest civic motto imaginable.
The model village finale shrinks the whole town’s violence into a perfectly ridiculous miniature battlefield.
The Cornetto connection continues the trilogy’s running ice-cream joke, this time with blue packaging tied to the police theme.

Misc.

Hot Fuzz is rated R in the United States.
The movie runs 121 minutes.
It is the second and most commercially successful film in the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy.
Rotten Tomatoes describes the setup as Nicholas Angel adjusting to life in Sandford while grisly “accidents” suggest something rotten in the village.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists Hot Fuzz as Episode 33, with Don rating it 4.25, Ken rating it 4.50, Jon rating it 4.25, and an overall rating of 4.33.

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