Paul

The idea that an alien being, an until recently fundamentalist Christian, and two basement nerds discover the world and are therefore not particularly different from each other has wonderful potential and invites endlessly funny confrontations worth multiple series. So why the funniest component of the film is a federal "higher power" on their asses is indeed a mystery. It's probably because the screenwriter decided that if there weren't at least 16 lighter moments in every scene, it just wouldn't be it. Unfortunately, though, he didn't think any deeper about the fact that to make it work it's good to build on the jokes and build up the jokes, not drop them like eggs onto a conveyor belt. As such, though Paul makes it through quite deftly every time it threatens to get bogged down in the ballast of sentimentality, just as often you'll find yourself while watching it dropping a "he he he" and a "why" in the same sentence. (12/03/2012)

Relaxing entertainment with the nicest alien this year. Paul, with a perfect voice-over by Seth Rogen, excellently complements the good old Simon Pegg and Nick Frost duo. The movie is packed with references to every movie possible (Spielberg’s voice cameo is faultless) from Star Wars to Spiderman and back again. An excellent atmosphere, full of effing and blinding in the unrated version, is maintained throughout the movie and, during the ending, when things end up exactly the way you expected, you sigh with emotion, these movies simply have a heart. - Paul? - Yeah. It’s a nickname, it stuck. My ship landed... on a dog. That’s OK. (09/06/2011)

Unfortunately, I was expecting something a little different from Paul than the end result. I like the films with Pegg and Frost mainly because of their dry English humour, which was totally missing here. I think that if the third of the famous trio, Edgar Wright, had been put in charge of directing, the potential of the film would have been much better used. In fact, in the film, this duo only play second fiddle, because if anyone is pulling it off, it's the stoned alien Paul himself. His digital rendering and all his grimaces are absolutely flawless. The humour itself was not so accomplished, although there were some hints parodying well-known science fiction, but most of it was classically American humour. This is one of the reasons why the British actors did not have a chance to make a significant impact. Setting aside my expectations, I still got an above average comedy, but one that had for a lot more than that. (12/04/2012)

I went to the cinema for an unplanned movie. If I had read the plot summary, I probably wouldn't have gone to see it. But then I would have missed out on an excellent comedy with a memorable alien and two cool dudes. I haven't heard so many bad words in one sentence from a one-eyed Christian woman in a long time. And if Paul ever falls down, I want to be there! Quite a brilliant film. 75% (14/06/2011)

The trailers gave me the impression that it would be some kind of childish and embarrassingly vulgar nonsense, but I like science fiction and I gave Paul a chance, even though I was almost sure I would bury it later. And lo and behold! It’s pretty funny. A nice wisecracking comedy that as a bonus sticks its tongue out to Christianity several times. I had fun. 75 % (09/06/2011)