20 Most Rewatchable Movies Of The 2000s

Edgar Wright hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory in recent years. Indeed, the last film of his you’d want to have on your shelf is Baby Driver, released nearly an entire decade ago. Nonetheless, for every Running Man, Wright has made a Scott Pilgrim, and for every Last Night in Soho there’s a Hot Fuzz.

A no-holds-barred, adrenaline-fuelled thrill-ride and quaint countryside comedy in equal parts, Hot Fuzz pulls big city cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) out of the Met and plonks him down in the rural town of Sandford, Gloucestershire, where he trades fighting junkies and making busts for chasing swans and kicking under-agers out of the pub. Partnered with small-town bobby Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), it seems life is destined to be slow for Sergeant Angel, until he uncovers a series of grisly murders linked to the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance.

The quintessential British movie, Hot Fuzz deftly captures the manners, sensibilities, and quirky norms of UK culture and tradition. Sure, it’s set in England, but the West Country attitudes and surroundings feel familiar to anyone who has lived in a small town or village anywhere from Abergavenny to Drumnadrochit. Its cast features some of the cream of British acting (including Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, and Timothy Dalton), it satirises crime and action movie clichés while simultaneously delivering the kind of scenes that make these genres so watchable, and it’s so jam-packed with jokes, sight gags, and callbacks that even 100 viewings will never be enough.