POLICE Constable Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is one of the Metropolitan Police's shining lights. He is so good at his job, he makes the rest of the force seem sluggish.

So the Chief Inspector (Bill Nighy) transfers Nicholas to the sleepy West Country backwater of Sandford, where nothing ever happens.

"There hasn't been a recorded murder in Sandford for 20 years," proudly declares Inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent).

Assisted by Frank's son, Constable Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), Nicholas meets the locals, including supermarket manager Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton), florist Leslie Tiller (Anne Reid) and Reverend Philip Shooter (Martin Freeman).

The new cop in town soon discovers that Sandford harbours at least one psychopath. Armed to the hilt, Nicholas inspires his colleagues - PC Doris Thatcher (Olivia Colman), Sergeant Tony Fisher (Kevin Eldon) and DCs Andy Cartwright (Rafe Spall) and Andy Wainwright (Paddy Considine) - to take down the bad guys by any means necessary.

Hot Fuzz is a hugely enjoyable romp in the countryside that handcuffs the loopy plotting of Midsomer Murders to the hysterically overblown action of Lethal Weapon.

While this film certainly isn't as satisfying as Shaun Of The Dead, Edgar Wright's comedy has charm and colourful performances in abundance. The residents of Sandford are sketched in the broadest terms, like the flirtatious and bubbly PC Thatcher, who speaks in double entendres.

A riotous, overblown finale sees the two men all but destroy the town to uphold the law.

When the dust settles on the trampled herbaceous borders, we're certainly grinning, but Wright's film falls short of high expectations. Hot Fuzz shoots to kill but only causes a flesh wound.

Damon Smith