Team America: World Police

I was slightly disappointed the first time I saw this film - probably because I was so hyped up about it, having heard so many people talk about how hilarious it was. My second time through it, though, everything clicked. Team America: World Police is juvenile and disgusting, yet sharply pointed satire that goes out of its way to be offensive - in other words, it's hilarious, and yet more proof of Trey Parker's genius. Parker and Stone do things no one else would ever dream of doing - or even be allowed to do. It's a film I know I know I will enjoy watching time and time again for years to come.Hilarity aside, the audacity of making such an elaborate film using puppets is almost mind-boggling. Parker and Stone probably had little idea of what they were getting into, yet they stayed the course, brought together a tremendous team of individuals who, as the special features make obvious, relished the chance to take the art of puppetry to new heights, and created something that is really quite amazing. It's uncanny how life-like these puppets are - I daresay Alec Baldwin, for example, is much more wooden in real life than is his puppet in this film. These aren't just wooden characters dangling on strings; each puppet's head is filled with animatronics that control his/her expressions with uncanny precision. The puppet fights are hilarious, but nothing's funnier than watching Gary give "the signal" as his first mission with the elite American fighting force goes south.As with everything Parker and Stone do, there's actually a point behind all of the humor. Though their detractors would never admit it, these guys actually do have a handle on what is going on in the world - and within America. If you've ever seen South Park, you know how quickly they manage to exploit the big issues of the day. No one is safe from these guys' political humor, but the Left does tend to suffer the brunt of the satirical attack in this film. (Those who say Parker and Stone are suddenly outright conservatives have obviously forgotten their short-lived series That's My Bush - which was the only unfunny thing they've ever done.) Team America itself takes America's military might to obvious extremes, as when they pretty much destroy Paris in order to stop WMD-toting terrorists (of course, no one seems to consider the fact that the terrorists would have destroyed Paris to an even greater extent themselves had their plan succeeded). Alec Baldwin's ilk, though, suffers most because they have two Stone/Parker targets on their back. One, they are soporific liberals who would stop terrorism by sympathizing with the enemy and commiserating with their extreme anti-American views over tea and crumpets; two, they are actors and I think Parker and Stone really mean it when they say they hate actors - it's one of the reasons they chose to make this movie with puppets (plus, one of the original inspirations for the project was the idea of doing a parody of today's action films).I don't think I need to describe the movie, really. Kim Jong-Il (even though he does sound a little too much like Eric Cartman, at times) is a great character, of course, but you probably know all about the film's story by now. It is true that Parker and Stone push the envelope (actually, they just tear it all apart and rush right on past it) at times - especially in the puppet love scene and the vomiting scene - probably just to prove how much they can get away with, but you just have to expect that sort of thing from these guys. It's one of the things that makes them Parker and Stone. Let's not forget the songs, either. From the heart-pumping theme song to Kim Jung-Il's loneliness lament, Team America World Police features a great soundtrack (be sure to go all the way through the final credits in order to hear a final little snippet from Kim Jung-Il).If you're easily offended, you'll probably be holding your nose higher and higher as you watch this film (even while those around you are bent over holding their stomachs with laughter) - but that's okay because the rest of us need someone to hold our popcorn while we struggle to regain our breath.

A perfect little time capsule for when it came out and still rings true in some ways to the present.(world/American police) creatively funny.

The nude puppets banging was strange, but it was overall hilarious.

funny

Was my first time to see the whole movie in one sitting. It was by far better than just seeing bits and pieces here and there. Upon first seeing it didn't even know it was a movie. A must see.

If you ever watched Thunderbirds or ThunderCats, I don’t know one of those puppet shows from the 70s you’ll think this is funny.

As a kid in the 60's I watched Thunderbirds with a sense of wonder at the imagination of its creators. Team America, with its wacky/wobbly way of walking and over-the-top team spirit, captured the charm of its predecessor, but with an absurd plot and so many ridiculously satirical scenes, it added real lunacy to the latter. Gary as a terrorist is an image that will stay with me for a while. I loved this so much!

Like all things South Park, no one is spared.

muy buena compra, viene con audio español latino dificil de encontar!

La película es extremadamente cómica, para fans de South park como yo, sin embargo, lo compré con la esperanza de que fuera la versión unrated, lamentablemente las escenas de “golden shower” y “lluvia de meteoros” fueron eliminadas.

Parody is a very difficult artform and many do it exceedingly badly - the Scary Movies for instance - but Team America is an equal opportunities satire that is also one of the funniest films ever made. For anyone at any end of the political spectrum if you can't find something to laugh at yourself about in Team America you probably aren't looking.In a similar vein to Borat, Team America characterises the world through the eyes of the unenlightened. Unlike the Kazakh, this film makes the mockery of the US explicit. The subtlety of the humour is magnificent and while it is all on show at every point, sometimes it is hard to keep up with the layers of the jokes while laughing so hard. The opening sequence with Team America saving the world by blowing up half of Paris is jus utter genious. That it is Paris that takes the brunt of the explosions is not remotely due to chance as the script would have been written in the aftermath of serious tensions between Presidents Bush and Sarkozy.This is not though merely a mockery of the US understanding of the world. It is a biting attack on some elements of the film industry. The moment in the extras where the writers acknowledge that Jerry Bruckheimer actually does some things they find quite difficult to copy doesn't take away from the satirical explosion scenes that defy physics or the miraculous kill ratio of the heroes while not causing any civilian casualties. The action movie is easy to satirise but Team America does it brilliantly.Team America's crushing of actor ego is superb. That the film is made using puppets rather than live actors sets the scene for the ego assault so well. The Film Actors Guild is about as funny an attack on the seriousness with which ac-tors take themselves. I happen not to dislike Matt Damon particularly but that didn't stop me from laughing out loud - it could be any actor and it would still have been funny.There are very few flat moments but the gross-out scene involving the lead character didn't really raise a smile and the Spotsworth oral sex was amusing but a little uncomfortable.These moments are heavily outweighed by the genious of "We've lost Intelligence" or the secret signal the lead character is instructed to make if he perceives danger. The ridiculous plan to infiltrate the terrorist cell in Cairo is awesome. That the lead character has somewhat offensive make up on and still keeps the same accent while "acting" is legendary comedy of the absurd.The line between absurd and brilliant is narrow and Team America is firmly on the brilliant side in the character of Kim Jong-il. The absolute ruler of a small but exceptionally dangerous country is given a Bond villain treatment on the outside but tears of a clown on the inside. This is simple and highly effective characterisation. "I'm So Ronry" works not only for the explicit meaning of the lyrics and the pathos of the character, but also because it is a damn good musical number.The extras are ok, nothing too special. The accounts of difficulties arising from using puppets is interesting as so few puppet shows exist these days. The technical descriptions are at the right level of detail though whichever it is of Matt and Trey that has nothing to say for himself doesn't come across as a particularly strong contributor.Team America is simply fantastic. If you are a left-leaning teenager you might not get some of the parody. If you are a right-wing US patriot you probably don't get why you are being laughed at but if you are anyone else watch this.

DVD just as described. Very good condition. Was slow arriving but that might have been due to shipping to Canada.

Su suggerimento di Frank Matano in una intervista ho acquistato il film.Devo dire che avevo proprio voglia di ridere. 😂😂