Movie Review #4 - Paul

Going to drink your brains and steal your knowledge

The American road movie, immortalised by such greats as Easy Rider, Thelma and Louise, Roadtrip (?!), etc. has now been given the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost treatment. I must confess, I was a little sceptical to go and see this movie (no Edgar Wright?!), as the trailer made it seem a little lacklustre. When it was announced that Pegg and Frost were going to be at the cinema introducing an advanced screening of the film, I knew I should go. After all, these are the creators of two of the finest comedies of last 10 years. 

The story is really basic, which slightly hinders the film. The beauty of seeing Shaun of the Dead for the first time is that you have no idea what is going to happen. With this film, you can guess everything from the opening scene. What holds this movie together, however, is the joy of watching Pegg and Frost riff off each other. The running joke is that they are a gay couple, and there is never any doubt that they are the best of friends, on and off screen. The one-liners fly thick and fast, and the geek references and loveable homages fill almost every frame.

The film does, however, seem a little flat in parts. It certainly feels like the two have tried to 'Americanise' their humour. It is less subtle, and a lot of the jokes become cringeworthy, certainly the ones involving the incompetent law enforcement. Also, I found it very bizarre that Paul, the scrawniest alien ever, was voiced by Seth Rogan. I understand that it was probably an intentional casting joke, but Kung Fu Panda did that. Seth Rogan sounds like he should be the voice of a bear, not ET.

Paul is good fun whilst it lasts. It is nowhere near the calibre of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but is enjoyable, nonetheless. Go and see it with some mates, have a laugh and enjoy some well written comedy. I'm sure that after you see it, you will want to find that Darwin t-shirt.

3.5 Stars