* {{Anvilicious}}: The "religion is wrong" aspect can reach very preachy levels.
* ClicheStorm: Much of the movie's plot and dialogue feels very by-the-numbers. The [[ReferenceOverdosed numerous shout-outs to other films]] probably don't help in this respect.
* ConfirmationBias: Ruth and her father's [[TheFundamentalist religious fundamentalism]], so very much. Also the film overall in its anti-religon message, especially the InsaneTrollLogic of Paul's existence conflicting with religion...somehow.
* FanonWelding: Though Edgar Wright's name and the titular ice cream brand are nowhere to be found, some fans consider ''Paul'' to be an unofficial installment in the ''Film/ThreeFlavoursCornettoTrilogy'' due to Creator/SimonPegg and Creator/NickFrost playing the leads, the film being mostly a light-hearted comedy before going into darker comedy in the final act, and there being a mild amount of bloodshed. Even moreso when ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'' came out due to ''Paul'' being a road-trip movie with a challenging goal which fits the tension and high stakes of ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' and ''Film/HotFuzz'', while ''World's End'' is just a group of guys doing a pub crawl while dealing with ridiculously fragile alien robots, with some fans even declaring ''Paul'' to be a more worthy alien-based final entry in the trilogy.
* FridgeBrilliance: Why did Zoil stick with two clearly incompetent agents and give them as little information as possible? Not a firm grasp of the IdiotBall or VillainBall, but because [[spoiler:he was deliberately trying to sabotage the Big Guy's efforts to track down Paul]].
* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler:Despite Haggard having a BaitTheDog arc, his PunchClockVillain moments make some fans hope he gets out of his car before it explodes after going over a cliff, especially after O‘Reilly also survives a near death experience.]]
* HilariousInHindsight:
** At one point, Graeme is wearing a shirt for ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}''. Creator/SethRogen, who voices the titular alien here, would go on to voice Allen the Alien in the [[WesternAnimation/Invincible2021 TV series adaptation of that comic.]]
** During the end credits, Graeme says he thought Ruth was coming to Comic-Con as Franchise/WonderWoman. Ruth's actress, Creator/KristenWiig, would go on to be cast as Wonder Woman's archenemy, the Cheetah, in ''Film/WonderWoman1984''.
** This film is not connected to the ''Film/ThreeFlavoursCornettoTrilogy'', but two years later [[Film/TheWorldsEnd a film in that series]] ''would'' release where Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's characters stumbled across aliens.
* OneSceneWonder: The Big Guy's pilot isn't even credited, but is decently memorable for the brief scene where he and the alien [=UFO=] pilot are talking shop in the background after the climax.
* RetroactiveRecognition: O'Reilly is [[Series/BrooklynNineNine Charles Boyle]].
* {{Squick}}:
** Graeme's [[spoiler: bullet wound closing up.]]
** Not to mention [[spoiler: Paul's chest opening out as he's healing him. You can see his chest spasming and blood running out...]]
** Clive mentions that the last time he had sex before meeting Paul was with a woman cosplaying as an Ewok.
--->"Clive likes boning space bears!"
** Our [[TheMenInBlack Man In Black]] makes his first appearance and, whilst looking serious and professional, performs the TheKetchupTest on a puddle of liquid on the ground... remember when Clive pissed himself when he passed out earlier?
* TearJerker: Admit it, you teared up a little at Graeme's DisneyDeath.
* UglyCute: Paul is basically a Grey with puppy dog eyes and a myriad of facial expressions due to his personality.
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Paul himself, especially. He's so well-rendered it's easy to forget he's a special effect at all.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: If you saw this film in theaters, the number of little kids watching the film would go beyond the number of fingers on your hands. Clearly, parents saw the wide-eyed, cute looking alien in the commercials and, despite the R rating, thought that it's a completely kid-friendly movie. There were even some cases where the trailers for this film would play before kids' movies.
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