Review - Team America: World Police (2004)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Hope you're all enjoying yourselves on this Fourth of July. Today, in honor of it being the Fourth of July, I decided to take a look at the 2004 comedy Team America: World Police, a satirization of action movies from South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. 

         So, the movie focuses on the anti-terrorist paramilitary unit known as Team America, who traverse around the world fighting against terrorists, and usually leaving the place they're attempting to liberate in worse shape than when they arrived. The team recruits Broadway actor Gary Johnston, as he can act like a terrorist and get inside information that Team America can use. 

         Opposing Team America is a collection of film actors being led by Alec Baldwin. These actors include the likes of George Clooney, Samuel L. Jackson, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Danny Glover, Janeane Garofalo, and Matt Damon. Ultimately, this union of film actors joins forces with the true mastermind behind the terrorist plot: Kim Jong Il. 

         So, the thing that makes this movie so unique is that it's produced entirely using marionettes. In a manner similar to the classic British television series Thunderbirds, Team America uses marionettes to portray the characters on screen, with many South Park voice actors providing voice over for the movie. And seriously, seeing the designs for many of the celebrities was pretty hilarious. Alec Baldwin, Peter Jennings, Helen Hunt, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Matt Damon, Danny Glover, Michael Moore, even political figures like Hans Blix and Kim Jong Il. And I will say, making Kim Jong Il the villain of the movie was pretty awesome. Kudos to the voice work by Trey Parker in the portrayal of Kim Jong Il. Also, I thought it was hilarious how Michael Moore, director of the documentary Bowling for Columbine, was portrayed as a gluttonous buffoon. According to Matt Stone, their beef with Moore was specific, as Matt himself appeared in Bowling for Columbine, and his segment was featured just before an animated segment called "A Brief History of the USA," and people mistakingly were led to believe that Matt and Trey made that short, which they did not. 

        The music in this movie is also pretty fun as well. While I enjoy the music score by Harry Gregson-Williams, it's the songs written by Marc Shaiman and Trey Parker that were the most memorable, with my personal favorites being "Freedom Isn't Free," "I'm So Ronrey," and "America Fuck Yeah." And I'm sure you guessed it, it's that third one that made me want to review this movie for Fourth of July. Obviously, as an action comedy, the movie has plenty of action, and it's all hilarious. I mean, "bust a gut laughing your ass off" hilarious. Seeing some of the puppets getting their strings tangled up while fighting each other is pretty damn funny. And, the destruction and explosions are some of the funniest things ever put on screen by Matt and Trey. 

        Overall, I loved this movie, and a few of the celebrities parodied in the movie felt the same way. Alec Baldwin found the movie "so funny," George Clooney admitted he would have been insulted if he wasn't included in the movie, and so on and so forth. Heck, even Hans Blix had a good laugh at how the movie portrayed him, and even referenced it in a lecture. Cool. 

         For me, this is a movie that is fun for a laugh at how it mocks military-related action movies, American patriotism, and liberalism in Hollywood, and it's great to get friends together to watch and laugh. I'm giving Team America: World Police a rating of 4.65/5. 

         Well guys, I hope you all have a fantastic Fourth of July, and I'll see you guys next time.