Paul

It's been 60 years since Paul has been a visitor on planet earth. Being imprisoned in a Military facility for a long time the green guy (Paul the Alien), finds a way out. He escapes god knows how, and flees in the first vehicle he comes across. Unable to reach the pedal at the wheel Paul Swirls and finds himself in a fatal car crash, which was pretty much self-inflicted! Graeme and Clive two hardcore comic fans just happen to be taking a road trip across the states exploring area 51 in the greater Americas. Just so happens that Paul just like clockwork crashes right in front of them and so the friendship begins. Fleeing from the law is not an easy task if you're an alien I would say, not far behind in agent Zoil hot on their tail trying to bring Paul back in. Clive and Graeme make it their own concern as they earnestly try to save the little guy and send him back home. The choices they make are fairly unorthodox, but effective.

Written by Nick Frost & Simon Pegg, this alienated comedy is just what you are about to expect as per the trailer. Slapstick comedy, fast pacing and at times downright stupid; yet that is the genius comedy that makes this a fun to watch movie by the entire family if you're above 18! Some language and content seem to have brought upon R MPAA rating which personally I felt is a bit too much, taking into consideration the gist of storyline. Yet; that's just how it is! Director Greg Mottala (Superbad, Adventurland) who is known for his funny approach to movies does a sheer marvelous job on this hilarious sci fi comedy. A personal favorite of mine was the blowing up of the house! Without giving it all away, I need to say, simple but satisfying! Nick Frost, Simon Pegg & Jason Bateman. What a lovely combination of talent. The two Englishmen and the New Yorker does a fantastic job and keeps the movie and very fast pace. Seth Rogen does a perfect Paul, and his voice just livens up the lines in a manner that even some dialogues that are serious sounds funny.

It has been a while since I have been entertained on a Sci Fi comedy. As a critic at times one becomes to analytical, however there are a few productions that just go by me that deserve to be viewed in the intent it was scripted. The reason I chose to say this is the result of conversations where some believe that there is no depth in the characters and there was no intricate plot progression. That's when to the best of my knowledge, I shifted my paradigms and made an effort to align it with what presumably were in the hearts and the minds of the director and the writers. If you manage to do so you will enjoy the story of "Paul". If you are a fan of entertainment and allow room for some sci fi stupidity which is eventually a farce this for sure is one of those to sit back and watch with family or a few of your close buddies.

Title: Paul Directed by: Greg Mottala Starring: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Jason Bateman & Seth Rogen Rated: Rated R for language including sexual references, and some drug use. Rating: 07/10 109 Minutes

When they were promoting Paul, I had heard Pegg and Frost discussing the film and they made a comment regarding the fact that nobody was just going to give them 50 million dollars and let them do whatever they wanted to do at risk of a loss. Also in their minds I would guess was the fact that colleague Edgar Wright had been given freedom to make Scott Pilgrim which, although really good, didn't perform box office wise. As a result of this comment I was sort of prepared for this film not quite to be as British or as smart as their previous work on things like Hot Fuzz and of course Spaced; turned out I was right to be ready for this but wrong to assume it would make a bad movie.

Paul isn't a bad movie at all, it is just a pretty average and mainstream one. The laughs are solid and the action enjoyable but it does rather lack edge and bite when it has the opportunity to do so. Instead it seemed much more mainstream and easy than I expected it to be. The film really only takes shots at far right Christian extremism and they probably weren't going to be queuing up for this film in the first place. Outside of this the film goes for good general laughs so we have a rude alien who is essentially Seth Rogen and lots of action with comedy blended in – and it gets these good general laughs and produces a perfectly fine mainstream comedy. Sci-fi references are throughout the film but even these are hardly very clever or obscure (even my girlfriend got most of them); I still found them funny but again I got the feeling that the film was trying to make sure that it was as broadly appealing as possible, as opposed to the slightly more arch comedy that the two have done previously.

It does still work though because I laughed more than I expected to and even when I didn't it had a broadly amusing tone to it that entertained me and kept the mode consistent. A big part of this is that Rogen's Paul actually works well. Primarily as an effect he is great because you quickly forget he is an effect. Secondly though he works because he is likable and funny – and I say this as someone who can take or leave Seth Rogen's limited range. He is a good character and he has good presence. Pegg and Frost play it safe mostly. Pegg appears to be channelling Ricky Gervais' awkwardness but not to as much success – he is good but he has been better elsewhere. Frost plays his usual shaggy-dog character and he also does reasonably well with it even if some of his material isn't up to much. Wiig is nice in support and her unconvincing cursing is very convincing. Bateman was enjoyable as ever (he deadpans up there with the best of them), Weaver allows for several good sci-fi references and the support cast feature turns from Lynch, Tambor, Koechner and a few others doing solids.

Overall I expected little from Paul but yet it was funny and enjoyable. The laughs were solid but outside of them it kept its tone well and made for a mostly safe and enjoyable mainstream comedy. I hope that both Pegg and Frost benefit from it though – and benefit in terms of a little bit more trust and freedom because Spaced, Hot Fuzz, Shaun and so on all show they can produce classics when given the chance. Paul is not one of their classic but by all means it is a really enjoyable mainstream comedy.

Shaun of the Dead – great. Hot Fuzz – brilliant. Paul, The third collaboration between the two best friends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is another action-packed comedy featuring an alien, guns, and Jason Bateman. Unlike the previous films the pair starred in, Paul still has the strong bromance between the two but takes a turn to be more of what Scott Pilgrim Vs the World was instead of Hot Fuzz.

Scott Pilgrim – directed by Edgar Wright who also directed the first two films mentioned – was a geek-friendly action comedy. Paul is more of a geek-friendly comedy. It's crude, so think Superbad (Greg Mottola had directed that too) instead of Shaun. Then add the whole 'comic' tone of Scott Pilgrim – the great action scenes but less violent and amusing ones instead, and two geeks who are into comics rather than in the comic like Scott Pilgrim was. And add E.T gone comedy with the voice of Seth Rogen. Plus add a cameo from Sigourney Weaver. Then you have Paul, a geeky, clever, and very funny film but simultaneously you then have its problem.

As you could probably figure from the description above, the problem being said is that Paul tries to pack too much in during the encounter with the alien itself. The running time is a perfect 104 minutes. But by the end of those 104 minutes, there are several suggested sub- plots and alternate directions that could have been taken to reach the destination. One sub-plot involves Paul shattering Ruth's (Kristen Wiig) faith. It's an odd film to have a religious subtext in and it will maybe have questions thrown at in terms of what message is trying to be said. Nevertheless, those 104 minutes are brimmed with pure entertainment and the plot is established enough to make sense and not take a wrong turn.

With an ensemble cast, what makes Paul especially hilarious is how every character in the film has a moment of comedy gold. That includes Adam Stevenson – famous writer whom they meet at a Comic-Con festival and simply has five on-screen minutes. Five amusing on-screen minutes. Pegg and Frost are as funny as they were before, fizzing chemistry over Area 51, still the brilliant duo that work better than Pegg and Andy Serkis did in Pegg's last film Burke and Hare. They're buddies with mutual buddy-love that are better together than most odd pairings. It's (probably) guaranteed that they will stay as the best British duo even off-screen as Thomson and Thompson in the upcoming Tintin film which is to be directed by veteran sci-fi director Steven Spielberg. It's reported that Pegg and Frost said that Paul was a love letter to Spielberg – it sure is an amusing one, and is certainly the best Valentine-themed film this Valentine's Day.

The pair wrote the screenplay for this film – so expect many contemporary references – plenty of sci-fi ones – and clever gags. At times, the jokes can feel a little self indulgent; inside jokes that would probably confuse most and only careful listeners can interpret the clever jokes. The majority of the script, however, is a laugh-a-minute ride with some recurring jokes that become funnier and funnier throughout. Paul's part of the script gives a big L to The Green Hornet; Seth Rogen was much funnier off screen. The actor was miscast as the green superhero so there were dreads of him being miscast as this green amiable alien but kudos to Pegg and Frost because this was the perfect script for Rogen to show that The Green Hornet's failed hilarity wasn't detrimental. Looking at another view, if Rogen was the screenwriter for Paul, then maybe it would have been of the dull standard of the Hornet unless he can still write something on par with Superbad. Imagine that.

Paul may be a funnier film for the more clever/geeky viewer. If that's the case, the words 'Cult Following' can be seen written all over it. For all other audience, Pegg and Frost haven't diminished in their comedy quality from their previous films even though Paul may be broader than either of them. If Scott Pilgrim was the geekiest film of last year, Paul definitely wins that title for this year. It may not be an Out of This World film (pun partially intended) but lays claim to the most hilarious film of 2011 yet.

Verdict: Your money's worth – Paul is the funniest film there has been in ages.

From the trailers, I had come to expect quite a lot from the movie. Actually I had thought and believed the movie to be more than it actually was when I was done watching it. Now, I am not saying that the movie is bad or dull, far from it. The movie is pretty cool and fun, though there is nothing overly new and inventive about it. And that is what sort of made the movie a bit tame.

The storyline in "Paul" is good. An alien has crashed on Earth and now many, many years later he escapes from captivity and hits the road, where he accidentally bump into Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings. With the government in chase, Paul and his newfound friends are racing to get across USA and to get Paul home.

Right, well throughout the movie there was a bunch of subtle and not so subtle references to other movies. Many of these had me laughing, because they were hilarious and quite often in your face. And it was rather surreal to have a country/hillbilly band play the cantina band music from Star Wars, but it was hilarious.

As for the cast and the acting in the movie. Well, it has long been established that Simon Pegg (playing Graeme Willy) and Nick Frost (playing Clive Gollings) have amazing on-screen chemistry and they add a lot to each other. So it was nice to have another movie with them working together. Jason Bateman (playing agent Zoil; you will love his full name when it is revealed) also did a good job. He was cool and to the point, and his character was really awesome. Bill Hader (playing Haggard) and Joe Lo Truglio (playing O'Reilly) worked well together as a goofy police unit, and added some weird comedy to the movie. It was a shame that Sigourney Weaver (playing The Big Guy) had such a small role. But despite this, she always delivers a good performance. And I just loved what was said right after she got punched in the face. That was one of my favorite movie references in "Paul". Now, Seth Rogen (the voice of Paul) is not really one of my favorite actors, but he did a good job with the voice-acting in this movie.

For a comedy, don't expect to be laughing throughout the entire movie. The movie is driven by a good story and spiced with comedy here and there. Which in itself is a good combination, and it worked well for this movie.

Not to forget the CGIs in the movie. They were excellent. The character Paul was so nicely made, and the textures of his skin, face and eyes was off the charts. And those effects really helped carry the movie.

"Paul" is a great movie, though it is not Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's best movie, it takes a lot to top "Shaun of the Dead". But it is a good enough attempt, and the movie works well enough all together. A movie with a great story, some laughs here and there, and it will take you out of this world.

It's been a long wait, but finally, for the first time since 2007 Simon Pegg and Nick Frost team up once again as the unstoppably funny duo. Their pairing this time isn't quite at the same quality of comedy as Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead but let's face it, those two movies are comedy gold. Paul is still hilarious and it is rife with highly quotable jokes that you can laugh about for days. Plus it has plenty of great nerdy sci-fi humor that only us true geeks and catch on to. Paul follows two British tourists in America, Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) who are traveling cross-country to visit all of the most famous UFO sightings in America. While in Area 51 they pick up a hitchhiking alien named Paul who is excellently voiced by Seth Rogen. Graeme and Clive quickly learn that agreeing to protect this extraterrestrial is giving them a lot more than they bargained for as they are chased by the FBI, hillbillies, and a religious shotgun toting nut job.

If there's one thing I can commend Paul on, it's finally giving us the satisfaction of an R rated sci-fi comedy. The blend of the two genres is great and making it a vulgar, violent riot is just what fans needed with so many lame PG-13 comedies floating around these days. Pegg and Frost wrote a hilarious script for this movie, one that easily could have been ruined by a few edits to suit a PG-13 rating. But thankfully they got to keep it their way and give us something obscenely entertaining.

Paul isn't one of those profound comedies that breaks the barriers of typical comedy or goes unforgettably above and beyond, but it is really funny. The jokes are hilarious almost every time. It's not high brow comedy by any means and there are a number of fart jokes, gay jokes, poop jokes, and so on and so forth, but I can't say that they didn't make me laugh because I most certainly did. But as an added bonus the film is filled to the brim with sci-fi film references. They range from blatant, like a set of fireworks that make the Close Encounters of the Third Kind tone, to as subtle as the band in the bar playing the Mos Eisley cantina song from Star Wars. This has got to be one of the nerdiest scripts ever written, and I absolutely loved it. I'm sure there are a number of references I missed or didn't get, but that's just because every little thing is a reference to some sort of sci-fi film or theme. To quote the Brits, "It's brilliant!" There's no two ways about it, Paul is cast perfectly. Pegg and Frost are obviously excellent and you couldn't find a better duo of British nerds anywhere. Seth Rogen does a surprisingly good job voicing the alien, whose animations are also excellent and add a lot of comedy to the film. Other supporting characters are great in their roles, like Kristen Wiig playing the neurotic ex-Christian Ruth Buggs. Jason Bateman plays a straight man role as the FBI agent leading the chase after Paul and he is hilarious in his own deadpan way. Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio play two other FBI agents who make a hilarious little side pair of characters who have their own running jokes and quirks. Then there are tons of cameos from very recognizable actors such and Jeffrey Tambor, Janey Lynch, David Koechner, and even Sigourney Weaver. There's hardly an actor in this film that I don't go, "Hey! I recognize that guy" when I seem him or her.

Paul by no means transcends the comedy genre but it is no doubt funny. If you don't find at least some of the humor in this film amusing then there is something wrong with you. Sure it's cheesy at moments, OK it can be predictable at times, but as a comedy it really works and it gave me a solid hour and forty minutes of great entertainment. If you love a good R rated comedy, go see this movie, and if you're a sci-fi nerd you have to see this movie just for the fun of catching references. This is a great little comedy that is plenty of fun to watch.