It's no Hot Fuzz or even Shaun of the Dead (it had to be mentioned), but Paul is another funny outing from the great pairing that is Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Their chemistry is perfect again in this offbeat comedy and the ending feeling of the film gives hope to the film actually being enjoyable on repeat viewings than the director's other outing Superbad. One of my biggest concerns with the film is that I wouldn't be able to appreciate the character of Paul because Seth Rogen's voice is so recgonizable. Though after about ten minutes, I forgot Rogen was voicing the alien. Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wigg do a good job as well. The film starts out a little slow but once the laughs come out big, Paul becomes a blast. The film is not director Greg Mottola's best (that still belongs to Adventureland) but it is strong. ***

Loved it,

Some great references to all movies (I Think my favorite was in the Raiders warehouse)

Very Funny, but not necessarily a hilarious film, I think it's pretty good and touching as well. Seth Rogen was awesome as Paul and his best character to date. In fact Id like to say that Paul in general is the best CGI character ever created. Take that Gollum. Great addition to the best living duo.

I wasn't talking about the CGI quality, I was talking about the acting and believability.

And it's their biggest film to date and surpassed expectations, I don't know what more you could want from Brittish comedians making a huge geek film with supporting actors with no box office appeal, it could have easily been another Fanboys. It cost 40 million to make, will do 35-50 in the states and another 50 overseas and another 40-100 WW in DVD sales. Its another solid hit for them. The end.

Gun, there's a studio ready to hire you as there "Go to P.R Guy" when a movie is crap and your there to ensure everyone that no matter what, no matter how bad or poorly it performed at the box office, it's still a hit in the end.. Juggle a few numbers and Gun will turn your mediocre movie into a hit..

if you call 200 million on a 40 million budget mediocre then go ahead chief. The difference between me and you when you spin, you blame it on the world and economy and DC fans. When I do it, I use actual data.

I saw this opening day and I really loved it. Some seriously funny moments (my favorite being when Wiig was running towards her father when she thought he got hurt in the house explosion ). Kristen Wiig was fabulous in this and she is becoming my new Anna Faris. Highly recommended.

8/10

Much better than I expected. I'm reminded of a review of Pineapple Express calling it the ultimate nerd wet dream movie - Where if a bunch of nerds came up with the most awesome stuff that could happen to them and action scenes, that's what it'd be. I felt the same way about Paul. Ultimate sci fi fanboy dream. Meet an awesome alien, get in an awesome car chase plot against the government, get with a hot nerd, and do it all with your nerd bff.

I really can't think of a better way to do this movie. And Paul is the best Seth Rogan character in forever

I like Greg Mottola, but he was the wrong guy to direct this.

its funny and i liked it but yeah

Anyone will seem inadequate to direct Pegg & Frost with Edgar Wright off to greener pastures.

That said, Paul's agreeably low-key sensibilities and charm keep it steadily moving forward. Like so many road movies, it amiably lurches from one gag to the next. Luckily, all the protagonists on board bring the funny. There's some great situations, and there's something fundamentally pleasant about having an extraterrestrial who likes recreational drugs and spreading his interstellar wisdom around. We've seen so many aliens that are merciless, mindless invaders (see the jingoistic foolishness of Battle: Los Angeles) that this is a nice change of pace.

Unfortunately, the 'bad guys' are a bit of a wash. Jason Bateman doesn't quite humiliate himself, but I don't think I ever found him funny or intimidating. And neither Bill Hader or Jake that annoying Guy did much for me either.

What did work for me were the numerous references. Some people have complained that they're tiresome, but I thought that having Spielberg/Lucas influences leak into the narrative of Paul made sense for Frost/Pegg's first outing into the states. This movie doesn't reinvent the wheel, and it may not be firing on all cylinders, but it's consistently charming, cute and agreeable.

Inside.

If I were to use one word to describe Paul, it would be "inside".

Perhaps some classes of ultranerds may dismiss it as "broad comedy", but if you consider yourself part of the general population, you will experience a feeling of being inside each time you catch one of the plethora of humorous sci-fi references embedded in this film. Not to mention the cameos...

Paul is a low-key, good-natured, story-based, old-fashioned, sweet-heart of a movie.

Simon and Nick look like they're truly enjoying themselves this time out, especially compared to (the still hilarious, but relatively strained) Hot Fuzz.

Very enjoyable, not just as a comedy, but also as a straight sci-fi movie - - really! Paul is a joke a minute smart aleck, but he's got a heart of gold!



¹/₁₀₀₀₀₀₀

My math skills are no longer good enough to comprehend Witherberry's ratings.

It's one in a million, in this case - - but you don't need math skills to comprehend my ratings, because they are actually anti-ratings. My Patented Bradley Witherberry Rating Scale® (as discussed numerous times previously) is both a critique of the 7-10 Scale and an impressionistic solution to it. Since all ratings are a joke, why not have some fun with them?



BTW, I dug that creationist t-shirt featured in Paul...

An enjoyable romp. Despite the raunch, the best words to describe Paul are adorable and innocent. It's a completely earnest homage to science fiction, a film in love with Comic-Con culture and eager to please its core audience. It runs a bit long, and it's never especially hilarious, but Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, and Seth Rogen are all very good here, and the film is genial overall.

B

It's hit-and-miss, but it hits more than it misses and it's generally a lot of fun. The references are terrific (if a bit obvious) and Seth Rogen is a hoot.

I agree that Mottola was the wrong guy to direct this, though.

Who would you have gone with? Edgar Wright? Or David Gordon Green? Just don't say J.J. Abrams!

Wright most certainly.

It takes a while to get going, but once Wiig joins in on the fun it's pretty hilarious. My friends and I were in stitches over Wiig in this movie.

Definitely enjoyed this. A solid B.

My favorite movie of the year so far. The cast is perfect and the jokes are constantly funny.

For those who pine for another Wright/Pegg/Frost, apparently the finale in the blood and ice cream trilogy will be made if Ant-Man doesn't get the go ahead. And Attack The Block by Joe Cornish, produced by Edgar Wright, is supposed to be fantastic. Can't wait to see that.