I really dug Shaun of the Dead. It's the most impressive film of its kind since the 80s and the best mix of horror and comedy elements since Landis' An American Werewolf in London. That said, when it comes down to it, it's just a really, really good genre movie.
Hot Fuzz is just an excellent movie all around. It's probably one of the most clever scripts I've seen come together in recent years. It's tough for any film to play for laughs, especially one that plays so close to its buddy cop and action roots (which are usually comedies to begin with), but to do in the way Wright and Pegg did is just mind blowing. There's not a legit action sequence until all of the last twenty minutes, but they manage to craft an excellent character driven piece for the majority of the film. And unlike Shaun of the Dead, which relied heavily on sight gags, Hot Fuzz is a master work of dialogue, timing and delivery. Wright moves the story along with clever writing and really, really likable characters for most of the movie, which is a feat that most serious action films fail at completely.
And whereas at the end of Shaun of the Dead, I was completely satisfied but not really salivating over a sequel - I want to see more adventures for Angel, Butterman and the rest of Sanford. The supporting cast is excellent; they could make a movie based on the Andy's alone. It's a gigantic step forward for everyone involved over Shaun of the Dead, where only Shaun and Ed were interesting and a couple of the characters were just downright obnoxious.
In a summer where you constantly have to compromise to enjoy American popcorn flicks (especially action films), it's just a pleasant surprise to see one that fires on all cylinders and doesn't play (completely) to the lowest common denominator. Edgar Wright continues to grow as a filmmaker, and the Wright/Pegg/Frost combination is a winning formula that I hope to see continue before ego and rising fame get in the way.
