Team America: World Police (2004) September 20, 2006
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Trey Parker
Supermarionation, now there’s an underused style of making movies. Take a bunch of puppets, some backgrounds, some props, and you could make pretty much anything. That’s what South Park creators Matt Stone & Trey Parker must’ve been thinking when they decided to put strings back on the big screen. They just added swearing.
The plotline is straight out of a typical Hollywood action movie: Gary Johnson is an actor, and a damn good one. He’s working on Broadway when the mysterious Spottswoode recruits him to be part of an all-action taskforce called Team America. They need an actor so they can uncover the evil Kim Jong Il’s plans to destroy the world with weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, the members of the Film Actors Guild (FAG) are speaking out against the teams approach to justice. Will Team America be able to stop Kim Jong Il, and face the media backlash of their actions?
It’s worth me saying up-front that while I like Matt & Trey’s writing I was never a massive fan of South Park. I like it in parts, I just never really got into it. The South Park Movie however, I loved (mainly down to the decision to turn it into a musical), so I didn’t quite know what to expect from this film. Luckily it’s very funny and thoroughly entertaining throughout, especially during the musical segments which are definitely the creators’ great strength. From Team America’s theme, to the montage song, and even the love anthem ‘Only a Woman’, the songs are always spot-on either in mood, or the lyrical genius.
The story isn’t too important although I love the way Stone and Parker have kept this movie true to action stereotypes. Especially the scoring which sounds like it could’ve actually featured in a real Hollywood blockbuster. Strangely, this movie climaxes in a stage-show just like South Park: BL&U, although I’m sure it’s just a coincidence and not a lack of ideas that lead to this. The puppeteers work overtime to bring the main characters to life, and the detail in the faces means you quickly get used to watching them. Some of the sets look fantastically detailed too, and are a credit to the designers. This is no Punch & Judy show, that’s for sure.
If you’re willing to put up with the language (a staple of the Stone & Parker movie), and distinct lack of humans, then this comes well recommended. Although it deals with current issues like terrorism, global America, and the role of celebrities in society, I don’t know how truly satirical it is. Satire involves a degree of subtlety that is lost in a film where puppets are shotgunning each other through windows. But on the action and comedy front it’s great fun, kicking Pinocchio’s ass into submission with a loud, proud boot called the USA!
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