Clive (Nick Frost) and Graeme (Simon Pegg) are British science fiction geeks. As such, they make a pilgrimage to Comic-Con in San Diego. Not content to simply revel in nerdom, the guys take to the road in a rented RV to tour UFO holy sites scattered around the Southwestern U.S. They haven’t gotten far when they have a close encounter of a weird kind. A profane alien who calls himself “Paul” (and whose voice is provided by Seth Rogen) introduces himself. Graeme is thrilled, but Clive passes out. Paul, having escaped imprisonment at Area 51, is on the run from U.S. government agents. He’s decided the best way to get home is to join these two geeks.
While the two pals adapt nicely to traveling with an alien—they’re true believers—he does put a bit of a wedge between the two buddies, in the way any new, cool guy might upset a longtime friendship. Things get more complicated when they pick up a conservative Christian woman (Kristen Wiig) used to a secluded life at a trailer park. She is shown the entire universe’s secrets thanks to Paul’s neat mind-meld trick. Meanwhile, the three government agents on his tail, the ruthless competent one played by Jason Bateman, the knucklehead wannabes played by Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio, are given their commands by a female boss back at headquarters, who isn’t seen until the end, but whose voice is unmistakably Sigourney Weaver’s.
The filmmakers go to great pains to disguise Weaver’s identity, but at the same time they court an audience that would recognize her voice immediately. The film is filled with references to virtually every geek-tested film of the late 70s and 80s. As any fans of Frost and Pegg undoubtedly know, this style is standard for them, as they lovingly skewered other genres in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Lines from Star Wars and Aliens show up (with the Aliens one brilliantly incorporated). References to other science fiction staples abound, with Star Trek, and E.T. warranting mention and a big nod being given to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In fact, Steven Spielberg was impressed enough by story that he leant his voice to a scene.
Though directed by an American (Greg Mottola) and set in the United States, the humor is decidedly British. Written by Pegg and Frost, the film provides plenty of funny sequences, but few of them are of the fall down laughing variety. It’s the kind of movie that sets out to give its audience an enjoyable story experience, rather than assaulting them with one obvious joke after another. Paul is just plain fun for science fiction fans and others.
Kino Lorber’s new 4K release is a new transfer of the theatrical cut, sourced from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. Approved by director Greg Mottola, the results are fantastic. Using both HDR and Dolby vision, detail and clarity is much stronger than Universal’s 2011 Blu-ray release. Contrast offers inkier blacks and brighter whites. There is no evidence of crush, and colors are deep and vibrant throughout. The image is clean of any scratches or other defects. Provided on a second disc, the unrated cut appears to be from the 2011 transfer, as does the Blu-ray of the theatrical cut.
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio appears to be the same one available on the 2011 Blu-ray release. David Arnold’s orchestral score is nicely spread across the soundfield. The track has no problem spreading the larger booms of explosions, helicopters, gunshots and more. It would seem the mix accurately reproduces the filmmakers’ intentions.
English SDH subtitles are included.
Kino’s release simply imports all of the 2011 extras onto the included Blu-rays:
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- Audio Commentary with Director Greg Mottola, Actors Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Bill Hader and Producer Nira Park
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- Audio Commentary with Director Greg Mottola, Actors Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Bill Hader and Producer Nira Park
- Between the Lightning Strikes: The Making of Paul Documentary (40:04)
- The Evolution of Paul: Featurette (15:05)
- Simon’s Silly Face: Featurette (1:20)
- Who the Hell is Adam Shadowchild?: Featurette (2:10)
DISC 3 (BLU-RAY):
- Unrated Cut of Paul (1080P HD)
- Behind-the-Scenes: Featurette (62:49)
- Bloopers (10:51)
- 3 Theatrical Trailers (7:29)
- 5 US TV Spots (2:25)
- 4 UK TV Spots (1:59)