Why Hot Fuzz Is The Best Of Edgar Wright's Blood & Ice Cream Trilogy
English writer-director Edgar Wright has made a name for himself over the years for his original, stylistic, and highly enjoyable films. Though commonly known today for movies like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Baby Driver, Wright originally gained recognition and praise for three earlier works. These movies, commonly referred to as the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy — or the Cornetto trilogy — consist of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End.
Following 2004's Shaun of the Dead, a zombie comedy that quickly earned cult status because of its hilarious yet heartfelt story, the next film in the trilogy was 2007's Hot Fuzz, a parody of classic action buddy comedies. Last but not least came The World's End in 2013, about a pub crawl cut short by an alien invasion. Though none of these films are direct continuations, the trilogy is connected through jokes, themes, and actors, led by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the ultimate comedy duo, who have worked together for decades. Meanwhile, the cast of these films is pretty much a who's who of UK's top actors. In just Hot Fuzz alone, that includes Olivia Coleman, Timothy Dalton, and Harry Potter actors Jim Broadbent and David Bradley. The mainstays in the trilogy, who have appeared in at least two of the three movies as various characters, include Julia Deakin, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Rafe Spall, and Bill Nighy.
However, over the years, one question about the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy has been continuously debated: Which film is the best?
Well, rest easy now, because we have the answer. And it's Hot Fuzz.
Hot Fuzz is a film full of laughs, action, and deep friendship
Released in 2007, Hot Fuzz took everything that made Shaun of the Dead successful and ramped it up. Starring Pegg as London Metropolitan Police Constable Nicholas Angel, the movie follows Angel as he is sent off to a tiny town by his jealous coworkers. The town of Sanford, Gloucestershire is continuously voted "Village of the Year," so Angel doesn't expect much action. Soon he meets bumbling Police Constable Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), who loves action movies and is eager to learn from Angel. Although he doesn't like the young man at first, the two quickly develop a close friendship as they solve a murder conspiracy.
Thanks to Wright's writing, Hot Fuzz succeeds as a tight action parody, but manages to be extremely original at the same time. Coming after a movie like Shaun of the Dead is a daunting task, but miraculously, Wright managed to beat himself at his own game. In Hot Fuzz, the focus is on the surprisingly emotional friendship between Angel and Danny. Compared to the other two films, the main characters of Hot Fuzz are arguably the most developed out of all the trilogy characters, as the movie becomes an honest character study of Pegg's Angel.
Relating to this, Hot Fuzz also manages to be the most grounded movie of the three, and although it's safe to say that it has many unrealistic elements, it doesn't revolve around supernatural plotlines like Shaun of the Dead and The World's End.
Hot Fuzz is the most successful movie of the Cornetto Trilogy
Considering the quality of these three films, comparing them is very difficult — but everyone knows that numbers don't lie. Hot Fuzz made over $80 million worldwide at the box office, almost double that of the next highest-earning movie in the trilogy, The World's End, which earned around $45 million. Shaun of the Dead only made $30 million (via Box Office Mojo). If you don't like to go by profit, then just look at the reviews for Shaun of the Dead versus Hot Fuzz, the two films which most often compared. Though Shaun of the Dead beats Hot Fuzz at Rotten Tomatoes by one point, at 92% to 91%, Hot Fuzz got an 81 at Metacritic compared to Shaun of the Dead's 76. With higher consistency across rating systems, Hot Fuzz seems to be better received by critics.
Aside from what the numbers say, Hot Fuzz is just a perfect film — or almost perfect.
Over ten years later, the jokes still hit, no matter how many times you've seen the movie. Along with that, the film still feels fresh and unique to the action-comedy genre, with plenty of gory horror, mystery, and even satire on English society worked into the mix. It practically invents its own genre.
Hot Fuzz continues to occupy its own space in movie history, not unlike Wright's later genre-bending hit, Baby Driver. Considering the consistent love for Hot Fuzz, so long after its release, it clearly made a lasting impression on audiences.