Summary:
The world is under constant threat of Al Qaeda and the terrorist evildoers. Thank God for Team America, the elite group of anti-terrorist masterminds that are the ony hope against all things terrorist!
I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E. – a super computer - sends word to Team America of a terrorist strike that will be 911 times 100, which is 91,100! Team America seeks to recruit the greatest actor they know of (Currently performing in Lease, the hit Broadway musical which is similar to Rent from what I could see) who is also a master of many world languages to go under cover as a spy to help discover who is behind this evil plan of ultimate terrorist destruction!
Review:
This is of course the next comedy installment of the South Park duo Matt Stone and Trey Parker. If you like the TV show or movies, then there’s no need to recommend this to you; no doubt you’ve already seen it!
I thought it was pretty damned funny, especially for the first 20 minutes or so. It starts in France, located 2365 miles East of America, and Osama Bin Laden plans to bomb it. Luckily, Team America shows up just in time and destroys the entire city of France while liberating it from Al Qaeda’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. I was laughing my ass off! It runs almost entirely on every cliché of the book, including the line “knew this was a one way ticket” from The Abyss, which was ripped off in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - although it wasn’t supposed to be a joke the first time it was ripped off!
I might also mention that Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer films are the main focus for the parodied action theme. But when such worthless dialogue and slam-bang action is in the hands of Stone and Parker, we're gauranteed some entertainment!
The most surprising thing about this movie was the stupendous amount of actors with small parts. I don’t know who played Kim Jong Il, but he did a great job! Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon (“Matt Damon!”), George Clooney, Sam Jackson, Sean Penn, Janeane Garafolo, Tim Robbins, Liv Tyler, Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore, Pat Jennings, and other big name actors all played themselves! A number of these actors did a great parody of themselves and had outrageous things happen to them by the end! But that’s ok, it was funny, so I can see why they’d want to be in this movie.
I don't know why it is everyone looked so strange, though. I've seen these actors in several movies before this one, and in Team America they look smoother, even younger than they should. I also think their performances were a little wooden, but they pulled it off in the end. That's the sign of a true actor, to bring about a film that's worth watching even though you can almost guess what they're going to say next.
The set design is astounding… they must have gone to great lengths to get footage in Paris, Cairo, Washington DC, Mt. Rushmore as well as many other places. There were also a lot of explosions on a number of classic historical landmarks that must have taken months if not years to perfect, only to be destroyed.
I would tell anyone who likes South Park, and/or dick and fart jokes who won’t take anything about Stone and Parker’s offensive jabs on the left and right wing political figureheads with anything more than a grain of salt to check this one out. You should have good laughs with Team America. They make cracks at both sides of the fence, and they aren’t afraid to proclaim the outrageous claims from either side.
I enjoyed it overall, but something about it didn’t satisfy me after it was over. I don’t know exactly what my issues were. There was an ample amount of fun violence, expletives up the bunghole, a totally outrageous sex scene (I have NEVER seen a movie so explicit with the sex outside of a porno!) and the comedy was great.
If you’re looking to make some complaints about a comedy with cats being filmed as panthers and a puking scene that lasts for about 3 minutes and 10 gallons of puke, then go look for something else.
Oh, and all joking aside, the movie’s score is pretty spectacular! I loved it!
… and that asian psychic chick is HOT!! I don’t know who she is, though. It’s the first movie I’ve seen her in.
Grade: B
Reviewed: 10/16/04