This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Tall In the Saddle
Plot Overview
London Metro Police Constable Nicholas
Angel (Simon Pegg) graduated first in the police academy to the envy
of his classmates, and from the graduation footage it appears this
“interfering
little friend” was shorter than the rest. Often a shorty will
find ways to compensate (“I got beaten up a lot when I was young”) and in this
case Nick became a consummate police officer, so good in fact that he was
promoted and transferred to Sandford, Gloucestershire a sleepy
little town with the rep of being the
safest village in the country … just to get him out of
everybody's hair.
There he observed on the
street the usual suspects as would also be depicted in author Thomas
Shastid's placid Starlight:
Why, there in the crowd went old Avarice himself. What a face! There he went again. There, for that matter, passed other grotesque creatures—Lust, Gluttony, and Drunkenness. There went also Sorrow, Sorrow and her sister Sin. There Sorrow again, and there again Sorrow. Strange how often Sorrow passed. And Ambition! Haw! What a proud, erect, gigantic figure was Ambition, and what a dominating face he had! (89–90)
In fact Nick's nemesis in this town will be the trolley-boy Michael appropriately called “Lurch” for his size.
There, too, along the sidewalk, went again all the virtues, all the vices: Purity, Self-sacrifice, Humility; Avarice, Pride, Ambition; all the rest. There went Robbery, Gluttony and Lust, all in one huge person combined. Again Ambition! What a ruthless, a king-like tread! After all, people needed kings (did they not!) kings of finance, kings of religion— (134)
Ideology
Here the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance (NWA) acts as
a cartel to start an insurrection with a humble beginning à
la, (Prov. 30:33) “Surely
the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the
nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth
strife.” A constant aggravation over time can change a state
of peace to one of war like liquid milk becoming solid butter through
churning. So can a blow to a critical area like a nose cause it to
bleed. Here a wild goose chase round the town eventually results in
a captured swan. Nick's partner PC Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) mockingly
(“Watch
this!”) sticks a fork (“My eye!”) in his eye to bleed
ketchup.
There are a lot of accidents in this town. Sure, accidents happen but when they keep mounting up one wonders, “Why is the crime rate in Sandford so low and the accident rate so high?” Hmm. There's always an explanation, but when Nick turns his back on the horticulturist for a moment to find her impaled on her own shears when he turns back around, and a hooded figure is fleeing, well, policemen are a suspicious lot and he's not buying the accident angle that she fell on her own shears.
He's about to send for the Metro boys in London, but when he spies a DVD on the shelf, one of the Bad Boys series, he has other ideas (“something I can do myself.”) We next see him mounted on a white horse, loaded for bear, toothpick in mouth and a couple combat shotgun stocks sticking up from his backpack. This police officer is sitting tall in the saddle and we are about to see action.
Production Values
“” (2007) was directed by Edgar Wright, having been written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. It stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Jim Broadbent. We get a splendid performance from Pegg playing it straight as a relentless-to-a-fault cop. The supporting actors are swell with Frost outstanding and Broadbent dazzling. Paddy Cosidine and Rafe Spall are comical as the two Andys, and Timothy Dalton is a nice addition as grocer Simon Skinner; he steals every scene he's in.
MPAA rated it R for violent content including some graphic images, and language. The cast and crew really outdid themselves with this one: plot twists galore, impeccable comic timing, blending of genres, and a literally little guy to root for. It features subtle British humor as well. The mind bending editing kept it moving right along. Runtime is 2 hours.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
I like all kinds of movies and this one seemed to be all kinds at once. It should appeal to a wide range of tastes and not be likely to disappoint anyone.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Edge of your seat action-packed fun. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: A scattering of suspenseful moments. Overall movie rating: Four and a half stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture was quoted from the Authorized Version, Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Shastid M.D., LL.B. Sc.D. etc, Thomas Hall. Who Shall Command Thy Heart? Copyright 1924 in the United States of America by Thomas Hall Shastid. Publisher to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: George Wahr, 1924. Print.
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