|
Strong Action, Humor, Sex, and Political Points with Puppets
They even use crane shots for this puppet movie.
Let me say one thing, Team America: World Police
can be considered the king of over-the-top dialogue and on-screen antics.
For those of you who take politics, or life, too seriously... this movie
may not be for you. If you think that some large puppets may offend you,
I can almost guarantee they will. But, if you can take a joke, no matter
how over the top or extreme, you should walk away from this film laughing
your ass off.
Realism to Puppets
First off, from the start of Team America: World Police you can
see the time, genius, cinematography, and effort that went into the creation
of this film. Everything from up-close face shots, fast action, explosions,
destruction, puppet sex, and even dialogue are state of the art. There are
moments where puppets fail at doing their jobs, which can be expected. The
beauty part is that Trey Parker and Matt Stone know this and take the time
to point out that puppets may have not been the best choice for this movie;
all with a hilarious effect. One such example is when Lisa or Sarah [can't
remember which one] is having an intimate moment with Gary Johnston and
tells him to find his heart. After doing so the puppet, or should I say
puppeteer, is unable to get her hand over on Gary's heart causing the puppet
[Sarah or Lisa] to look at her own hand wondering what the hell is wrong.
A great piece of comedy just from the issues with using puppets.
The sets are also amazing. There are so many little details brought to each
set that include miniature street lamps, landmarks, weapons, clothing, buildings,
bars, and all that falls within. Again, another aspect to the film that
gives an idea of how much work that must have gone into Team America.
There is also a scene where they look into the future of Kim Jong Li's plan
and the use of WMDs. During this part of the film the Southpark
duo [Trey Parker & Matt Stone] are given room to blow up major cities
including Hollywood, where they claim the anti-war actors and actresses
are coming from. The explosions are so cool with the included shock effects
that they would suit a real movie without people thinking otherwise.
The sound editing was also on top of its game. When a small little puppet
hits his/her hand, head, or whatever against anything, the resulting sound
is very real and loud. None of the sound editing was watered down to fit
the silly genre of the movie. Instead, Team America: World Police was
amped up like a real action, or should I say Bruckheimer, film. Some of
the explosions experienced in the film will shake your seats in the theatre.
Going Over the Top
First, if you did not know, there are a lot of big actors and actresses
portrayed as puppets in Team America. And let me tell you, these
puppets are not viewed in a favorable light. For one, they are not part
of the Screen Actors Guild but the Film Actors Guild [FAG]. Most, or all
face some pretty graphic and miserable deaths including having heads blown
off and bodies hitting pavement so hard, that they explode with blood splashing
everywhere. By the end of the film, it seems that the actors and actresses
portrayed actually join Kim Jong Li to protect 'peace.' This results in
violence between America, trying to save the day, and the FAG's trying to
stop them. Pretty extreme but, if you can understand this offense as Parker
& Stone's simple humor, you may just wind up laughing your ass off at
the death of some of your favorite entertainment personalities. Michael
Moore is obviously included in this list of people to rip on as well.
The Story
Besides all the little points and gestures that Parker and Stone put into
light in order to get a laugh out of viewers, Team America actually
has a story. Within this story there are lovers, love triangles, friends,
leadership, and betrayal. All with a continuously running score that is
pretty similar to Hans Zimmer; who is known for doing a lot of Bruckheimer
film scores. I went in to see a cartoon style movie and, instead was offered
a very real action movie that used puppets instead of actors to get its
point across.
Final Judgment: Team America: World Police is the ultimate
satire movie that spares nobody in its quest to get a point across while
making us laugh like crazy. Even though there are those out there that
will find offense to the film, most should be able to understand that
'over-the-top' is part of the Stone/Parker humor. A humor that should
have you laughing along the way. A-
|
© 2004 Minds Eye One, All Rights Reserved
The Can Magazine™ is a trademark of Minds Eye One
All movie titles, movie icons, movie stills/clips/trailers/other media... are registered trademarks and/or copyrights of stated holders
CanMag.Com banners contain movie/gaming icons that were created by individual holders
Home > Movies > Strong Action, Humor, Sex, and Political Points with Puppets
|
|
|
Add to Heffee!
