Genre:

Science-Fiction, Adventure, Comedy

By Ryan Casey

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost re-unite on the big screen for Paul; a sci-fi comedy directed by the man behind 'Superbad'. My admiration for the comedy duo is unrivalled, and always a fan of British leading roles I was desperate to like this movie, whether I did or not is a different story.

PLOT SYNOPSIS

Two British sci-fi nerds, Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost), embark on a UFO fuelled road-trip across the USA. On their travels they inadvertently meet an alien, Paul (voiced by Seth Rogan), who has escaped captivity from a military compound.

The threesome band together on a journey of self-discovery as Paul struggles to escape the pursuing federal agent Zoil (David Bateman) along with his hapless cronies Haggard (Bill Hader) and O’Reilly (Jo Lo Truglio). The chase is on for Paul and his comrades to rendezvous with the mothership surely with hilarious consequences, some not quite so hilarious.

The character of Paul is extremely enjoyable. Seth Rogan’s vocal performance creates a real sense of personality, thus making Paul a thoroughly believable CGI aspect of the narrative. Unfortunately, the success of Paul overshadows the overall performances of the other characters. The film is littered with a host of underwhelming characters, whose development is far too contrived.

Having grown accustomed to Pegg and Frost collaborating with director Edgar Wright, the absence of one leg of the tripod is clearly evident with Paul. Greg Mottola the director doesn’t do a bad job, but with this material his pacing and delivery clearly lacks in comparison to Wright’s quirky, distinctive style.

RATING
I’d like to be able to say that I whooped and hollered at the majesty of Paul, unfortunately it doesn’t really hit the mark. Instead of being abducted into a thrilling sci-fi extravaganza, it was more like experiencing a feeble hoax. In simple terms, it would have been better with Edgar Wright at the helm. 2.5 Stars out of 5.