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Paul poster

Movies that feel likePaul (2011)

For the past 60 years, a space-traveling smart-ass named Paul has been locked up in a top-secret military base, advising world leaders about his kind. But when he worries he’s outlived his usefulness and the dissection table is drawing uncomfortably close, Paul escapes on the first RV that passes by his compound in Area 51. Fortunately, it contains the two earthlings who are most likely to rescue and harbor an alien on the run.

If you loved Paul, the closest films we have are Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) and The Adam Project (2022). All three share Paul's epic and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004).

πŸ… 70% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.9 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Greg Mottolaepicwittyplayfulcerebral
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Disney Plus

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If Paul hit the spot, these will too

Hot Tub Time Machine poster
Hot Tub Time Machine
2010 Β· dir. Steve Pink
πŸ… 64%β˜… 6.4science fiction Β· comedy Β· adventure

The same mix in both: scale, then wit

Four pals are stuck in a rut in adulthood: Adam has just been dumped, Lou is a hopeless party animal, Nick is a henpecked husband, and Jacob does nothing but play video games in his basement. But they get a chance to brighten their future by changing their past after a night of heavy drinking in a ski-resort hot tub results in their waking up in 1986.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special poster
πŸ… 95%β˜… 6.9comedy Β· science fiction Β· adventureDisney+

Playful where it counts, cerebral underneath

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

On a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill, the Guardians head to Earth in search of the perfect present.

The Adam Project poster
The Adam Project
2022 Β· dir. Shawn Levy
πŸ… 68%β˜… 6.7adventure Β· science fiction Β· comedyNetflix

Epic adventure, and it commits to that

After accidentally crash-landing in 2022, time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed teams up with his 12-year-old self on a mission to save the future.

Free Guy poster
Free Guy
2021 Β· dir. Shawn Levy
πŸ… 80%β˜… 7.1comedy Β· adventure Β· science fictionDisney+

Witty comedy in both cases

A bank teller discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, and decides to become the hero of his own story. Now, in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way before it's too late.

Back to the Future Part III poster
Back to the Future Part III
1990 Β· dir. Robert Zemeckis
πŸ… 79%β˜… 7.5adventure Β· comedy Β· science fiction

Science fiction with a pulse of play, in both cases

The difference: Made in the 1990s, in a different era of the craft

The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.

Barbarella poster
Barbarella
1968 Β· dir. Roger Vadim
πŸ… 64%β˜… 5.9science fiction Β· adventure Β· comedy

Both lean on ideas more than on adventure

In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles poster
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2014 Β· dir. Jonathan Liebesman
πŸ… 20%β˜… 5.8science fiction Β· action Β· adventureParamount+

Comedy built on scale, twice over

The difference: Sits closer to action than Paul does

When a kingpin threatens New York City, a group of mutated turtle warriors must emerge from the shadows to protect their home.

Men in Black: International poster
Men in Black: International
2019 Β· dir. F. Gary Gray
πŸ… 23%β˜… 5.6comedy Β· science fiction Β· actionParamount+Starz

Science fiction built on wit, twice over

The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy poster
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2005 Β· dir. Garth Jennings
πŸ… 60%β˜… 6.7adventure Β· comedy Β· science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: alien

Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle poster
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
2004 Β· dir. Danny Leiner
πŸ… 75%β˜… 7comedy Β· adventure

Adventure built on play, twice over

The difference: Takes it somewhere less cerebral than Paul does

Nerdy accountant Harold and his irrepressible friend, Kumar, get stoned watching television and find themselves utterly bewitched by a commercial for White Castle. Convinced there must be one nearby, the two set out on a late-night odyssey that takes them deep into New Jersey. Somehow, the boys manage to run afoul of rednecks, cops and even a car-stealing Neil Patrick Harris before getting anywhere near their beloved sliders.

The Hangover Part II poster
The Hangover Part II
2011 Β· dir. Todd Phillips
πŸ… 35%β˜… 6.5comedyMaxParamount+

Comedy with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

The Hangover crew heads to Thailand for Stu's wedding. After the disaster of a bachelor party in Las Vegas last year, Stu is playing it safe with a mellow pre-wedding brunch. However, nothing goes as planned and Bangkok is the perfect setting for another adventure with the rowdy group.

Thor: Ragnarok poster
Thor: Ragnarok
2017 Β· dir. Taika Waititi
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.9action Β· adventure Β· comedyDisney+

Both know what they want from science fiction

Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his home-world and the end of Asgardian civilization, at the hands of a powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela.

In the mood for more epic?

all epic movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Paul’s defining feeling.