With Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have proved that they have lots of chemistry together and that they can make enjoyable movies. These two friends are back now with their vision of a science fiction movie: Paul
Paul tells the story of two friends (played by Pegg and Frost) who have dreamt of going to America and travelling around since they were kids. They have managed to save up enough money and make their dream come true and start their adventure at the Comic Con (which is one of the biggest conventions in the world that focusses on comics and movies) after which they plan to go on a road trip and see all the towns and places where aliens were spotted through the years.
It doesn’t take long for them to run into an actual alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), who has been living on earth for a couple of decades already and seems to have adapted local customs pretty well. It turns out that he has escaped his captivity as he was held by the government, who has sent agents after him to track him down.
This is the setup for quite an entertaining road movie in which the three of them are being chased. The agents are played by Jason Bateman, Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio and the last two I found to be quite funny. The movie also has a small romantic story when Kristen Wiig’s character is introduced, who is a very religious girl who suddenly denounces it and tries her hand at doing all the things she wasn’t allowed to do before. It results in some funny little bits, but nothing which really stands out.
The movie is filled with references to other science fiction movies/series such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. and Alien which is quite fun if you are a fan of those type of movies. Paul offers a fun ride with a cast that manages to convince. I quite enjoyed it, but don’t think it’s a movie you HAVE to see.
Score: 7
I saw this on DVD last week, I loved the Sci-Fi references and they made me chuckle but apart from that I did find it a bit flat. Although I agree it is enjoyable and it definitely is not a movie you have to see, I still think a 7 is a bit high, I would put it more like the middle of the fence 5/5.
Sorry this is me ^ was logged on on someone else’s machine.
A big part in my rating of movies is based on how much it entertained me or when it comes to documentaries how informative they were. I had a good time watching it. If I give something a 5 or below it’s usually a movie which is not really worth watching unless you have a particular reason to see it.
I am sorry Nostra, but this film is utter plop! I found it cringe worthy. Not one joke was funny enough to make me laugh. I just hate that our UK exports have to conform to the USA kind of humour and then lose a lot of their charm.
I suppose it is hard to compare this to Shaun or Hot Fuzz, as it only has 2 of the vital players. I miss Edgar Wright!
Great review matey, I hope you are getting some sleep and enjoying the nappies!!
Can’t agree on everything now, can we? 😉
Still have to see Shaun of the Dead, but heard a lot of good things about it. Reason why I haven’t watched it yet is that I’m not a big horror fan.
As for the sleep, I’m slowly getting into the rhythm of it all, but must say that she’s a very easy baby. She only starts crying for food or a diaper and sleeps the rest of the time (allowing me to catch some sleep as well).
I guess we can’t agree on everything, that would be very boring!!
I am glad she is doing well. I am getting all broody for another now….yeah right!!
Discussing movies makes everything more interesting,especially if you don’t agree on everything.
I couldn’t be any more happy! Another one? At least keep practising for one 😉
Yeah, didn’t like the movie at all. Maybe because I watched it on a small screen 25000 ft above sea level, but although there were the odd funny moments, in totality it just wasn’t that fun. I’m a big fan of Pegg and Frost and absolutely love Hot Fuzz, so this one was a huge disappointment.