I was not sure what to expect from this movie that I found on Netflix a while ago while browsing through the catalog. The movie poster makes it look like a hard-boiled police action movie but reading the reviews it became clear that it was more of a comedy. I had not heard of the movie before but it generally got good reviews so the other evening me and the boys sat down to watch it.
This is a fun movie. A good, old-fashioned British comedy. The core story could very well have been a serious crime story but the way it is implemented makes it so incredibly silly in a fun way. It starts off pretty much right away when PC Angel is told that he will be promoted but moved, because he makes the rest if the bunch of the dimwits at the precinct look bad, to a small British town where the most fun you can have is to watch the grass grow or get drunk and from there it goes downhill for Angel.
His new colleagues are somewhat weird not to mention more or less useless when it comes to police work. The by-the-book Angel is getting more and more frustrated and his only friend is the son of his new boss, whom he arrested on the first day by the way. When the grizzly “accidents” starts to happen the movie, in particular the explanations as to why they are “accidents” and not crimes, become more and more absurd. The special effects guys seems to have learned a trick or two from the Monty Python gang when it comes to over the top gory blood splattered scenes by the way.
In the final showdown between Angel and the totally whacko gang that keeps the town “clean” by deadly serious methods is short references to great many action movies. The amount of shots fired and the ratio of misses versus actual hits is nothing short of ludicrous. It was just so absurdly funny that it is difficult to describe.
If you are in the mood for some good solid British comedy then I can recommend this one. It is a very well done comedy and a lot more enjoyable than the get drunk and/or fall on your arse and/or and puke all over the place “comedies” that comes thirteen to the dozen today.