The good news about the teaser trailer for Paul -- Greg Mottola's sci-fi comedy starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and the voice of Seth Rogen as the titular alien? It delivers on its fanboy baiting premise: Two buddies on the way home from Comic-Con encounter an alien and have to help him escape the U.S. government. The bad news about the teaser trailer for Paul? It delivers on its fanboy baiting premise.
Don't get me wrong: Paul looks like a lot of fun. Pegg and Frost are aces when paired together (see: everything they've done) and the rest of the cast is laughably impressive: Jason Bateman as the F.B.I. agent, Kristen Wiig as something, Sigourney Weaver as something else, Jane Lynch and Rogen, who brings his Rogen-ish charm to the voice of Paul. Even the special effects work is good; Paul doesn't look great, but he also doesn't look like Jar-Jar Binks. Worries that Mottola, an indie specialist of awkward mannerisms, would be lost in an FX spectacle can be put to rest.
It's just...we've seen how this story ends. Snakes on a Plane. Hot Tub Time Machine. Kick-Ass. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. When you make a film for geeks, there is a limited number of tickets you can expect to sell. That doesn't really matter to you, dear reader, but it certainly matters to the executives at Universal...especially since Paul will be coming out on the heels of the PR nightmare that has become The Dilemma. Still, as someone who saw Scott Pilgrim on opening night, this is a no-brainer.
VERDICT: Sold.