Thanks for checking out our Paul Review
Genre: Comedy/ Sci Fi/ Bromance
Directed by: Greg Mottola
Staring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman
Released: 14th Febuary (UK and Ireland) 18th March (North America)
THE GENERAL IDEA
Two British geeks Clive (Nick Frost) and Graeme (Simon Pegg) decide to go to the San Diego ComicCon and fulfill their lifelong dream of visiting famous UFO hotspots across America, but things go awry when they meet foul mouthed alien Paul (Seth Rogen).
THE GOOD
The friendship between Frost and Pegg was believable and hilarious as per usual. Their kind of screen chemistry is very hard to come by, and I suppose it helps that they are best friends in real life too. The title alien Paul is unforgettable, and he will be one of Hollywoods most memorable extraterrestrials. He had me in stitches laughing. The CG used to create him is actually rather impressive and expressive.
Another great thing about this film is its attention to detail. Anybody whos ever seen a Sci Fi film in the past 40 years is likely to notice a few obvious references! Keep your eye out for one busy bar in particular.
Ruth (Wiig) learning to swear is wonderful and the two bumbling MIBs, Haggard and O’Reilly (Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio) were also pretty great too! However…
THE BAD
Some of the lines miss their mark, with some jokes being a bit cheesy. Another issue is that there is no real conflict between Frost and Pegg, unlike their previous pairings in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Their friendship is perhaps a little too perfect.
I also felt the directing wasn’t quite suited to Frost and Pegg. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but I’m just so used to Edgar Wright’s snappy style (I’ve watched the two ‘Blood and Icecream’ films an unhealthy amount of times, you see), but this is just a personal preference
OVERALL
Overall I loved it. It’s an entirely different beast to their previous films, but thats to be expected, as Edgar Wright wasn’t involved, but thats not to say its bad. Its full of memorable one liners and visual gags, and you’ll probably want to watch it more then once to find all the little Easter eggs.
The supporting cast is fantastic. Not one of them are a weak link. I highly recommend you go see this film.
I give Paul a 7.5 out of 10
