Plot: Graeme and Clive are two British are two comic book enthusiasts who come to America to to Comic-Con in San Diego and then travel through the country visit sites of UFO sightings. Along the way they come across an alien named Paul who is on the run from the US secret service and is trying to find a way back home. So Graeme and Clive agree to help Paul try to get home while also being chased by the secret service.
So how does Paul turn out? It's not exactly Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's best work, but that doesn't mean it's bad. While the idea of an alien wanting to go home or some agency trying to get it and things like that are nothing new, it does have some likable characters and some nice jokes. Pegg and Frost once again give us a likable duo as this time they're a couple of nerds that are trying to help this alien. Maybe because I'm basically a nerd myself, but just how nerdy they are from the way they talk about stuff or in some scenes speak Klingon just makes them easily likable for me. Paul himself is okay, though at times it feels weird that it's an alien voiced by Seth Rogen. I get that it's a comedy and so it makes sense to use a guy like him to voice Paul, but... I don't know when you consider the mere look of Paul, him having a voice like Rogen's seems a little off. The rest of the cast is also pretty likable with actors like Jason Bateman, Jane Lynch, and of coarse, Sigourney Weaver as "The Big Guy." And again, there are some decent funny moments too. I think the funniest moments for me where some of the scenes with the rednecks. There are some problems with the film however. I think the main one is that the film is a little uneven. There are some moments where you're not sure something is meant to be funny or serious. The biggest ones for me is when one of the supporting characters is caught in an explosion and another dies. I won't give away who or how, but what makes those moments uneven are the face that these characters were made to be funny in a certain style, and the way they where defeated and/or killed was more or less tasteless, which I don't think that's what they were trying to do. Another big example for me, which is also my biggest problem with the film is how they started to discuss religion and the universe and things like that. Now sure, that is a little too easy for me to say as a Christian and so not be okay with that, but even with that said, it does take us away from the comedy that this movie is focusing on. Jeremy Jahns more or less feels the same way, stating how the film was acting rather preachy against Christianity as if the writer had an agenda or something.
And that's my review for Paul. It has it's moments of being uneven with things like getting rid of some characters or acting a bit preachy against Christianity, but otherwise, it's a nice film with okay comedy, a good cast, and some likable performances. It's not the best Pegg and Frost has to offer, but it's not bad.
Rating: 60%
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