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[tab title="Movie Review"]
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Hilariously off-putting in its documenting of an anti-liberal, pro-Bush time period in American history, 2004’s Team America arrives on blu-ray this week from Warner Bros thanks to a newly minted distribution deal with Paramount. While the film’s creators have gone on the record saying they would never do something like this again, there’s no denying that its satire is as irreverent as it is immature and sharp, which makes Team America: World Police a bowl full of Awesomesauce.
The collective creative mad genius of Matt Stone and Trey Parker (creators of South Park, now in its 19th season) cannot be ignored. Team America is a pinnacle of sorts. With their take on Britain's cult TV show Thunderbirds, they offer up this politically-charged madcap adventure complete with strings attached that incited a whole lot of people and made a whole lot more double over in laughter. The film might have cost the dynamic duo their goodwill accolades from Hollywood but, with immature material this criminally funny, I have to think it was well worth it.
For the record, Team America is one of the few movies that I have ever laughed at so hard and so frequently that I actually cried. Written by Stone and Parker, the film delivers one comedic blow after another as ass-kicking marionette’s run amuck while saving the world and brand America from North Korea's Kim Jong-il and bleeding-heart Hollywood nobility like Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon and other members of the liberal Film Actors Guild or "FAG" as Stone refers to them. What a bunch of softies.
And, yes, we even have Stone and Parker’s hilarious version of Jong-il. Poor Jong-il. He is so misunderstood. Unsuccessfully dealing with intense feelings of loneliness, the demented leader joins a growing pacifist movement full of familiar faces with the grand intention of blasting everything into a nuclear holocaust. Only his pet “panthers” who crash through a window to attack marionette Sean Penn and Danny Glover will be safe.
The politics and overall action star machismo is amped to 11 throughout Team America. Even the song lyrics are riddled with American mockery, satire, and homo-erotic suggestions. Like I said, nothing is sacred and no one is safe; this is subversive comedy at its edgiest and incredulist. Hands off nothing. All of this as the crew of “Team America” sets out to protect the world from terrorists while destroying iconic locations like the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre. And that’s just the beginning of the movie. America. Fuck ya.
Stone and Parker, who do most of the voices, keep their guns of mockery aimed at everyone with dialogue that is as immature as it is deadly. Who can forget the "Dicks, Pussies, and Assholes” analogy that becomes an argument for the ages? Combine this with standard action film tropes and a hilariously “wooden” sex scene and you have the makings of comic delight. And, yes, it continues to offend EVERYONE regardless of their belief but, hell, if you can’t laugh at yourself then seriously what good are you?
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[tab title="Film Details"]
MPAA Rating: R for graphic crude and sexual humor, violent images and strong language - all involving puppets
Runtime: 98 mins
Director: Trey Parker
Writer: Trey Parker, Matt Stone
Cast: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Elle Russ
Genre: Animation | Comedy
Tagline: Freedom Hangs By A Thread.
Memorable Movie Quote: "You are worthress, Arec Barrwin!"
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: October 15, 2004
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 13, 2015
Synopsis: We live in a time of unparallel danger. Weapons of mass destruction are being offered to terrorists all over the world. Global chaos is about to consume every country on Earth. And there is only one hope for humanity.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Available on Blu-ray - October 13, 2015
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit); German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps); Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps); Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps); French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps); Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps); Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1; Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Region Encoding: A
The 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray being distributed by Warner appears to be the same transfer that Paramount released overseas back in 2013. Fine detail is good. Black levels are strong throughout and the colors are strong. There is no oversaturation present. There’s a nice grain to the texture of the film, too. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is strong.
Supplements:
Commentary:
- None
Special Features:
None
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