Team America, a
global police force whose mission is to save the world at any
cost, sets out to stop terrorists and an evil dictator who's
selling weapons of mass destruction, but first they enlist the
help of actor Gary Johnston who must pose and act as a terrorist
to infiltrate the terrorists' organization.
CRITIQUE
Really, where can I
start? Team America is freaking hilarious! Director Trey
Parker and Matt Stone are masters at lampooning current events,
politics and celebrities. They have presented their talents on
South Park for the past couple of years as the show continues to
reinvent itself in various ways. First and foremost, Team
America: World Police is a send-up of Jerry Bruckheimer action
movies, and instead of using real actors, Parker and Stone really
don't like working with them, puppets on strings take the center
stage. Watching the puppets walk, fight and dance is very funny.
Using puppets
allowed the filmmakers to put some star power in the movie
including the likeness of actors Alec Baldwin (who Kim Jong-Il
declares "worthress"), Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Samuel L. Jackson,
Helen Hunt, Susan Sarandon and Matt Damon. All of them are part of
the Film Actors Guild, or F.A.G. for short, which is a great joke.
The majority of these stars obviously didn't give their consent to
have their likeness portrayed in the movie, but since they're
played by puppets it's fair game (at least I think so).
Where Team
America: World Police really impresses is the production
values. The cinematography is excellent as Bill Pope (The
Matrix) is the director of photography. The puppets are
presented in very fine detail from great costumes to the smooth
animatronics, and the amazing work of all the puppeteers, who
essentially are the "actors" you never see. Perhaps the most
amazing feat of this production are the huge and detail-heavy sets
that include Paris, Cairo, Mount Rushmore, Kim Jong-Il's palace in
North Korea and the Panama Canal. The bonus material on this DVD
explains how the production achieved all these things.
THE VIDEO
Paramount presents
Team America in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors look clean
and well saturated. Print quality is very good, as is sharpness
and detail. Optional subtitles include English, Spanish and
French.
THE AUDIO
Paramount presents
Team America in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.
Dialogue is clear and easy to understand, with the front speakers
delivering noise free audio. The rear speakers are active during
the action scenes, and the sound effects and score are presented
clearly.
THE EXTRAS
The following
featurettes are presented in fullscreen and feature great
interviews with many crew members.
Team America:
An Introduction (5:09) has Trey Parker and Matt Stone
explaining their intentions for making the movie. Also, the
characters are introduced and we learn these guys hate actors,
which is why they used puppets.
Building The World
(12:41) is perhaps the most informative of all the featurettes as it
focuses on the production design, set decorations, forced perspective,
and much more.
Crafting the Puppets
(7:59) examines the creation of the puppets.
Pulling The Strings
(10:07) looks at the directing and acting of the puppets.
Capturing The Action (6:42) focuses on the cinematography. Really
cool stuff.
Miniature
Pyrotechnics (4:49) showcases various explosions during memorable
scenes. Informative stuff.
Up Close With Kim Jong-Il
(5:09) focuses on the character and how he got to be in the movie and
was created.
Dressing Room Test
(2:04) is just what it says.
Puppet Test (4:08) shows a series of puppet movement tests with
the puppets acting out various scenarios. Some funny stuff here.
Deleted/extended scenes and outtakes (6:06) feature 11 scenes
that are all pretty good presented in letterboxed fullsceen. They can
be played individually or using the "play all" option. One scene shows
a "hand" playing Ben Affleck at the F.A.G. meeting. Another shows an
extended scene of Gary's fight with Kim Jong-Il's guards.
Also on hand are 6 animated storyboards presented with
dialogue and sound effects.
Rounding out the extras is the theatrical trailer (1:33), the
second theatrical trailer (2:19), and preview trailers
for The Longest Yard, South Park Season 5 DVD, Jay Z:
Fade to Black and Coach Carter.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Team America:
World Police is awesome and absolutely hilarious. It was one
of my favorite movies of 2004. The special features are very
informative although a commentary would've been nice.
