Does Paul phone home?
Two years ago I saw a preview panel at Comic Con for Paul. It seemed like they put together a great cast. One that is perfect for this sort of film. Little did I know that Sigourney Weaver only shows up in person towards the end of the film. 🙁
In theory Paul is Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s scifi version of Shaun of the Dead. There’s tons of inside jokes about science fiction films in Paul, which will make any nerd laugh. Aside from that this film doesn’t have a wide appeal like Shaun of the Dead does.
I think that Paul may have been a better film if it went out and was a direct spoof of some alien film instead of trying to be its own original story. Both the story and its characters aren’t very interesting. The story becomes a get from point A to point B story arc, and I honestly wasn’t sure why they were going anywhere to begin with. Simon and Nick’s characters are two ubber nerds and are the type of people that I try to avoid during events like Comic Con. They feel like their stuck in their own world and it’s tough to feel their compassion towards geeky things. Paul is also a character that is completely opposite of E.T. He’s rude and would be a terrible alien to have a first encounter with.
I watched the unrated version of the film and I’m not sure what exactly could be strikingly different between this version of the film and the R-rated version. The language used throughout the film warrants an R-rating, but it’s not like there’s something that is completely obscene that couldn’t be shown in theaters. The unrated version is 6 minutes longer than the R-rated version.
For people that liked the film, there are a good amount of extras that they’ll also enjoy. There are bloopers, information about how Paul was created, and other behind the scenes featurettes. In addition to the Bluray, this combo pack also comes with a DVD and Digital Copy of the movie.
Clearly it’s a good overall package, but I simply wish that Paul the movie was better than what it turned out to be. If your friends are Trekkies or have watched Alien thousands of times then maybe they’ll get the jokes. Otherwise they will be scratching their heads and pretty much bored for this long journey.