Paul

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Paul

R,

2011,

1h 44m,

Comedy/

Adventure/

Sci-Fi

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Watchlist

Watchlist

70%

204 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

250,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

204 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

For the past 60 years, a wisecracking alien named Paul (Seth Rogen) has resided at a top-secret military base in America's UFO heartland. When Paul decides he has had enough of Earth, he escapes from the compound and hops on the first handy vehicle -- a rented RV manned by two British sci-fi nerds named Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost). With federal agents and the father of an accidental kidnap victim on their tail, the two hatch a crazy plan to help Paul return to his spaceship.

Critics Consensus

It doesn't measure up to Pegg and Frost's best work, but Paul is an amiably entertaining -- albeit uneven -- road trip comedy with an intergalactic twist.

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Jim Schembri

The Age (Australia)

Apr 13, 2011

2.5/5

Passably funny, though one suspects even diehard sci-fi buffs will find the film's wall-to-wall pop referencing tiring and a tad lazy. Doesn't anybody write genuine jokes any more?

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Apr 13, 2011

3/5

Paul isn't as riotous as the early Pegg and Frost movies, but it does have a certain sweetness. Everyone in it is sort of innocent, except Paul, the alien wisecracker. It's likeable, if uneven, rather than hilarious.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Mar 25, 2011

3/4

It is a sunny road trip comedy that had me smiling from the start, and while there are the occasional hiccups this is still as breezily a good time at the movies as I've had this year.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 20, 2025

3/4

Often lewd and crude but always more clever than expected, Paul is ultimately a sweet homage to pop culture geeks, sci-fi aficionados, and anyone who came of age on a steady diet of Spielberg blockbusters.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 11, 2025

4/5

Effective as both a tribute to and sendup of a number of fan-favorite sci-fi films.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Jul 31, 2023

3/4

Mottola’s direction is serviceable, and the impressive cast of comedians and cameos make for consistent laughs.

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George W

Jan 3, 2019

Different and funny, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg's acting talents merge perfectly with the somewhat simple storyline. If your not into science fiction films this films makes a hell of a lot of refferences to other sci fi films

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Han S

Jan 2, 2019

Appealed to my sense of humor

Luke W

Dec 30, 2018

Took a random stab to watch this one. It is a funny and light hearted movie that entertains to the end. Good cast of characters and a good flow to the story. Give it a shot.

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Anakin M

Dec 29, 2018

The first problem: this movie wasn't directed by Edgar Wright. The second problem: this movie isn't on par with Hot Fuzz or The World's End despite what some might think regarding the latter. I still thought Paul was funny. It has sci-fi cliches not helped by all the shout-outs to sci-fi and geeks in general but it's still a fun, humorous adventure with Seth Rogen enjoyable as the titular alien. He's a great effect that it's often hard to realize that, based off of behind-the-scenes videos and screenshots, the motion-capture for Paul seems to have been done in a studio and that Rogen was not actually in the same location as anybody else throughout the entire picture. Should Paul have been directed by Edgar Wright? Absolutely. But is it a bad movie on its own terms? No, not really.

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Rey L

Oct 17, 2018

Paul is a hilarious movie that captures a lot of the UFO conspiracy themes. The CGI of Paul was really well done. Seth Rogan as the voice of Paul was well done. Kristin Wiig, Simon Peg, Nick Frost and Jason Bateman are hysterical. Can't understad why people are so down on this movie. Loved it

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Theodore S

Sep 12, 2018

This was so damn funny... can't believe I waited so long to watch this... hilarious.

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Greg Mottola

Director

Simon Pegg

Graeme Willy

Nick Frost

Clive Gollings

Seth Rogen

Paul

Jason Bateman

Agent Zoil

Kristen Wiig

Ruth Buggs

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Synopsis

For the past 60 years, a wisecracking alien named Paul (Seth Rogen) has resided at a top-secret military base in America's UFO heartland. When Paul decides he has had enough of Earth, he escapes from the compound and hops on the first handy vehicle -- a rented RV manned by two British sci-fi nerds named Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost). With federal agents and the father of an accidental kidnap victim on their tail, the two hatch a crazy plan to help Paul return to his spaceship.

Director: Greg Mottola
Producer: Nira Park, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Screenwriter: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Working Title Films
Rating: R (Sexual References|Language|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 18, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $37.4M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS

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