Nicholas Angel is the finest cop London has to offer, with an arrest record 400% higher than any other officer on the force. He's so good, he makes everyone else look bad. As a result, Angel's superiors send him to a place where his talents won't be quite so embarrassing -- the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford. Once there, he is partnered with the well-meaning but overeager police officer Danny Butterman. The son of amiable Police Chief Frank Butterman, Danny is a huge action movie fan and believes his new big-city partner might just be a real-life "bad boy," and his chance to experience the life of gunfights and car chases he so longs for. Angel is quick to dismiss this as childish fantasy and Danny's puppy-like enthusiasm only adds to Angel's growing frustration. However, as a series of grisly accidents rocks the village, Angel is convinced that Sandford is not what it seems and as the intrigue deepens, Danny's dreams of explosive, high-octane, car-chasing, gunfighting, all-out action seem more and more like a reality. It's time for these small-town cops to break out some big-city justice. - skip ad - Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy and Crime/Gangster Running Time: 2 hrs. Release Date: April 20th, 2007 (wide) MPAA Rating: R for violent content including some graphic images, and language. Distributor: Rogue Pictures (Focus) Cast And Credits Starring: Jim Broadbent, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, Edward Woodward, Simon Pegg Directed by: Edgar Wright Produced by: Natascha Wharton, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner

It's fast and furious, loud and there's lots of gunplay, but screenwriters Edgar Wright (who directs) and Simon Pegg (who stars) fail to deliver the comic goods or thrills in their cop show lark "Hot Fuzz" the way they did in the zombie spoof "Shaun of the Dead."

Everyone can relate to a zombie picture, but "Hot Fuzz" is "Point Break" meets "The Vicar of Dibley." It's most unlikely that outside the U.K. the twain's devotees know one another. Non-Brit action fans won't know or care about the village stereotypes, and those who find the excitement of "Midsomer Murders" quite sufficient will be turned off. The film has done well at home, so there could be a quick and possibly healthy boxoffice return in its U.S. release based on the promise of "Shaun." It's more likely to enjoy a longer life on DVD.

A good lampoon requires affection as well as a sharp eye for mockery, but it appears that Wright and Pegg love their shoot-'em-up flicks a touch too much. When Pegg, as an ace city cop assigned to a rural backwater, and Nick Frost, as a bumbling village constable, get their shotguns pumping and 9mms blazing, comedy goes out the window.

The film begins promisingly enough with all-action copper Sgt. Nicholas Angel (Pegg) solving crimes and catching villains across London. He's so good that he makes the rest of the Metropolitan Police look bad. He has this explained to him drolly in quick succession by senior officers played by Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy. If the story had played out in the capital with those actors involved, things might have gone better.

But Wright and Pegg have smaller fish to fry. Angel is assigned to a quiet and sedate West Country spot that has been named village of the year for as long as anyone can remember. He soon meets the local uniforms: Jim Broadbent as a police inspector with Frost, Paddy Considine, Bill Bailey and Olivia Colman among his force. The initial encounters bode well, though probably not for teenage moviegoers waiting for the guns to go off.

When that happens, the killings get truly gory as Angel uncovers a plot in which locals are murdering anyone who might get in the way of the village winning its annual prize. The filmmakers evidently took great satisfaction in casting performers well known to British television viewers and theatergoers as village folk with a taste for high-powered weapons. It's doubtful that audiences in the U.S. will recognize many beyond Stephen Merchant and Timothy Dalton.

AlAll the action is staged with energy, but it gets relentless without anything really funny going on. Pegg shoots for laughs by playing it right down the middle like Dan Aykroyd doing "Dragnet." Again, Pegg's stupid fat sidekick, Frost, remains bereft of any observable talent for comedy. When the two start flying through the air with automatics kicking, you'd bet they would give anything to be in a Robert Rodriguez film and not in a comedy at all.