Every Classic Action Movie Referenced In Hot Fuzz

After tackling zombies in their first movie Shaun of the Dead, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg decided to satirize the “buddy cop” genre in the second installment of their Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy, 2007’s Hot Fuzz. The buddy cop framework was perfect for Pegg’s hilariously mismatched on-screen dynamic with Nick Frost.

From Danny asking Nicholas which action movies he’s seen to Wright replicating a bunch of shots from those movies, Hot Fuzz contains references and Easter eggs to a bunch of beloved classics of the genre.

11 The French Connection (1971)

William Friedkin’s The French Connection is one of the most acclaimed crime thrillers of all time. Gene Hackman stars as Popeye Doyle, a New York detective ruthlessly pursuing a French heroin smuggler. It has one of the greatest car chases ever put on film and an ambiguous ending that’s sparked decades of discussion.

There’s a brief flashback in Hot Fuzz in which a cameoing Peter Jackson, dressed as Santa Claus, stabs Nicholas in the hand. This is a subtle nod to a chase scene in The French Connection in which Doyle, disguised as Santa, chases down a criminal, and his partner Russo gets stabbed in the hand.

10 Dirty Harry (1971)

Clint Eastwood challenged the Man with No Name’s status as his most iconic role with the titular vigilante cop in Don Siegel’s Dirty Harry. When a serial killer inspired by the Zodiac arrives in San Francisco, Harry Callahan defies his superiors (and the mayor) to bring him to justice.

When Danny is listing all the essential action movies that Nicholas should see in Hot Fuzz, Dirty Harry is one of the first titles that come up.

9 Death Wish (1974)

Michael Winner’s Death Wish is the quintessential vigilante thriller, starring Charles Bronson as a New York architect who takes justice into his own hands and goes after the street gang that attacked his family.

While Hot Fuzz has no references to the movie itself, Nicholas’ line about Frank making himself “judge, jury, and executioner” is a reference to the poster tagline for Death Wish.

8 Mad Max (1979)

While George Miller’s later Mad Max films established a post-apocalyptic wasteland full of gas-guzzling baddies, the 1979 original was a grounded dystopian thriller about a cop seeking revenge in a bleak near-future.

Nicholas’ long drive out of Sandford is a nod to Max’s long road to justice in Mad Max. Plus, Wright recreates some of Miller’s shots of Max’s police car in Hot Fuzz.

7 Silent Rage (1982)

1982’s Silent Rage is a pretty wild movie, even by Chuck Norris’ standards. Norris stars as a sheriff who takes on a murderer who turns out to have superhuman powers that makes him practically invincible. It’s basically Chuck Norris versus Michael Myers.

In Hot Fuzz, this is one of the DVDs that Danny picks up in the supermarket. He reads the blurb on the back and seems highly interested, which is hardly surprising since the premise is awesome.

6 Lethal Weapon (1987)

While it’s predated by 48 Hrs., the tropes and conventions of the “buddy cop” genre were established by Shane Black’s Lethal Weapon script. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s Riggs and Murtaugh remain one of the most iconic buddy cop duos to this day.

In addition to emulating the buddy cop premise, Hot Fuzz has a more specific reference to Lethal Weapon. The burst water main accentuating Nicholas’ climactic fight with Skinner in the model village mirrors the sprinkler on Murtaugh’s front lawn accentuating Riggs’ climactic fight with Gary Busey’s Mr. Joshua. Plus, the birth announcement of twins Martin and Roger is a reference to Riggs and Murtaugh’s first names.

5 Die Hard (1988)

John McTiernan’s Die Hard is widely regarded to be one of the greatest action movies ever made, with some fans of the genre even giving it the top spot. Bruce Willis plays John McClane as a flawed everyman, which offered a nice, relatable counterpoint to the musclebound superhumans that dominated ‘80s action cinema.

There are no specific shots or lines from Die Hard in Hot Fuzz, but it is one of the many, many action movies mentioned when Danny is asking Nicholas which of the genre’s classics he’s seen.

4 Point Break (1991)

Kathryn Bigelow gave Keanu Reeves his start as an action star with 1991’s Point Break. Perfectly matched opposite Patrick Swayze, Reeves plays an FBI agent who goes undercover with some bank-robbing surfers and becomes so endeared to their charismatic leader that he doesn’t want to turn them in.

This is one of the movies that Danny shows Nicholas after the pub, and he recreates his favorite scene – Reeves firing his gun in the air and going, “Ahh!” – as his dad is getting away in the climactic showdown.

3 Supercop (1992)

The third installment in Jackie Chan’s action-packed Police Story series, Supercop, is filled with breathtaking stunts and spectacular set-pieces. This was the first Police Story movie not to be directed by Chan himself, with Stanley Tong taking over the director’s chair.

This is one of the DVDs that Danny checks out in the supermarket. He reads the blurb on the back and finds himself taken with the tagline: “Meet the cop that can’t be stopped.”

2 True Lies (1994)

While James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator movies are beloved classics, their spy actioner True Lies is often forgotten about. But it’s a fun action movie with a unique premise, following a secret agent (Schwarzenegger) who has to hide his profession from his unsuspecting wife (Jamie Lee Curtis).

In Hot Fuzz, after Nicholas defeats Lurch by tossing him into a freezer, Danny asks him if he used the one-liner, “Cool off.” This is a reference to Schwarzenegger’s character Harry Tasker from True Lies.

1 Bad Boys II (2003)

With almost seven times the budget of the first one, Michael Bay introduced audiences to the high-octane thrills of his signature “Bayhem” filmmaking style with the epic set pieces of Bad Boys II.

This is one of Danny’s favorite movies in Hot Fuzz. When he’s asking Nicholas which action films he’s seen and he replies “no” to every single one, he stops in his tracks after asking about Bad Boys II and incredulously asks, “You ain’t seen Bad Boys II?”

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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