"Not As Good" is Still Good

I've seen the excerpts of many critics' reviews on the new movie Paul, and the consensus seems to be: good, but not as good as Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead. After seeing it myself today, I have to add my voice to the chorus.

But make no mistake -- even "not as good" as those two movies still leaves plenty of room for a really entertaining movie. The latest film from (and starring) Simon Pegg and Nick Frost is a send-up a sci-fi and alien movies, in which they play a couple of Comic Con geeks who pick up an escaped (CG) alien voiced by Seth Rogen.

All three of them are funny and do good work, but most of the best moments in the movie come from supporting cast members, including Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, and Sigourney Weaver. (One possible reason for the "not as good as..." reviews.) The truly best moments of the movie come from clever references to other sci-fi films. You'll enjoy yourself a lot more seeing Paul if you've seen Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Aliens, and a certain infamous old episode of Star Trek.

Overall, I'd rate Paul a B. It's certainly worth seeing, and deserved better than to be the fifth most popular film this weekend (from what I've heard).