Team America stands as a reckless sword of justice and a valiant protector against all things evil. And even developed nations aren’t exempt from the group’s version of criminal intervention. Paris comes under grips of a bombing threat at the hands of prototypical Middle Eastern terror types. But before their dastardly plan comes to eventuality, Lisa, Sarah, Carson, Joe, and Chris fly into action and proceed to have a full-on shoot out in the middle of a crowded town square. After slaying most of the bad guys, one terrorist manages to skirt away and makes a break for it towards the Louvre. To quell the attacker, a targeted missile is sent straight into the building, killing the insurgent and destroying the priceless museum in one fell swoop. The quintet celebrate their victory in the aforementioned square, and the energy of the moment propels Carson to finally propose to Lisa. Unfortunately, one of the slain criminals wasn’t completely incapacitated, and shoots Carson in the back, killing him. Facing the loss team member and the rumblings of a major act of aggression against the developed world on the horizon, administrative leader Spottswoode recruits Broadway actor Gary Johnston to fill the pack’s void. With Gary’s infiltration skills to temper the bullish nature of the group, Team America is poised to be as effective as ever. Unbeknownst to them, the real threat to global evisceration is actually North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-il, supplying the world’s terror organizations with Weapons of Mass Destruction. Will the United State’s preeminent freedom fighting force learn of the true prima villain before it’s too late!?
World Police is yet another comedic project by the infamous fathers of South Park Matt Stone and Trey Parker. With Parker handling the directorial duties, he, Matt, and original Park writer Pam Brady (co-creator of the web series Mr. Wong) teamed up on script composition. For years, the patriarchs have proliferated paradoxical satires on pressing social issues and world events. Team America is no different. As much as my memory serves about my 15 year old self living in the U.S. during 2004, we were still scared. Patriotic cohesion was on the upswing, but the events of 9/11 made us feel collectively vulnerable unlike any point in my lifetime. In accordance with anxieties about everyday safety and a revival of national pride, people in positions of celebrity gave their two cents about how the attack should be viewed/interpreted and what course of action should be taken in terms of military intervention. The bellicose inclined took to the “boot in your ass” mentality. Bleeding heart actors called for deeper understanding of Middle Eastern cultures and little to no combat retaliation whatsoever. World Police explores this dynamic in every scene. Team America themselves brazenly brandish their form of hard hitting justice in the name of security and peace that borderlines on fascist. The fictitious Film Actors Guild, led by the puppet incarnations of Hollywood types like Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon, Janeane Garofalo, and Matt Damon seek pacifism from world leaders to make the “global community” ideology more tight knit and tactful.
What both sides in the film fail to realize for a majority of the runtime is that neither polar end can be effective against the present threats. Those responsible for acts of terror and oppressive dictators are not swayed by the risk of military conflict nor are they interested in joining a benevolent, inter-continental collective mindset. The antagonists of the moment are driven by religious lineage and cult of personality regimes of systematic privilege. Military conquests, imperialism, or inclusive amnesty cannot unseat a way of thinking. Ideologies transcend the lives of Earth’s current inhabitants. These are roots with (in some cases) thousands of years of history and belief. For real, unflinching change, the mindset of the citizenry has to be adjusted. All of the evils against humanity and nature that arise from these structures have to be addressed, and those living under such umbrellas have to show acquiescence towards adjusting the portions of their culture that breed atrocities that have been all to numerous since the turn of the millennium. World Police uses the ineffectiveness of the two sides as conduits of comedic exchanges and situations. To further lighten the mood, many usual Stone/Parker-isms are on display. The voice over work is chock full of overt inflections and dramatic tones that tangentially work alongside profane, juvenile script lines. Speaking as a South Park fan, one of my favorite side characters is Tuong Lu Kim, owner of the Chinese restaurant, City Wok. The same sensationalized take on a generic Oriental accent is used for Kim Jong-il, and hearing that voice attached to a ridiculous looking puppet on strings makes me cackle rather loudly. Speaking of puppets, in retrospect, this was an important production decision. One of the ways Park is able to “get away” with some of the subject matter it explores is because it’s animated in that patented “cardboard” style. It adds a level of campy cheesiness that keeps the show’s messages from becoming too antagonistic. This theory also applies to World Police. It is very hard to get riled up about a point you may not agree with when hand-to-hand combat is just two plastic and wood humans being lackadaisically slapped against one another, or the dismemberment of two people is being done by docile black house cats playing the role of Jong-il’s deadly panthers. The comedy just works, as it does in Park and their other films, all the while commentating on very real and pressing issues facing the world’s people.
Presentation quality is decent, but I have seen better for movies of similar age. The HD transfer process can be a helter skelter affair, but 2004 wasn’t that long ago, so the film stock and digital copies should have brighter resolution in 1080 than was displayed on this disc. It looks like what current DVD standards are, which isn’t bad, but it isn’t Blu-ray. Things are about the same when it comes to audio. DTS track is good, but doesn’t “jump out” as pronounced as other action infused BDs with DTS mastery. The biggest pitfall for this release is the lack of special features. Not one shred of extras are included. Not even a trailer. A commentary track with Matt and Trey would have been great, but alas, none such inclusion.
