'Team America' not clever

Team America: World Police" is a movie about a small group with a cool lair that is hidden inside of Mt. Rushmore. As the title implies, they take it upon themselves to police the whole world. They are good at fighting terror, but often leave the cities they visit in ruins. When terrorists kill one of the team members, they must recruit a new member who can help them stop a massive terrorist plot. \nSome movies are offensive and hilarious -- in my opinion that is a good thing. Sadly this film is not nearly as funny or clever as it aims to be or as its creators' (Trey Parker and Matt Stone) hit TV show, "South Park." However, the overall feel of the production is quite similar to "South Park." Many of the voices are done by Trey Parker and will be familiar to fans of the show. Excitingly, the cast of "Team America" is entirely made up of marionettes.\nAlthough the movie is a post 9/11 story about America's relationship to the rest of the world and the war on terrorism, the use of puppets doesn't seem to have a symbolic reasoning. Instead it is done, as explained by the filmmakers on one of the special features that comes on the DVD, as an experiment with an unusual way of "animating" a film. While the film appears to poke fun at American imperialism, it ultimately celebrates it. Along the way it bashes big budget action movies and celebrity activism. \nThe special features mostly focus on what goes into making a movie with puppets. It was impressive to see behind-the-scenes footage of the puppeteers at work. I especially enjoyed the mini-documentary about the construction of the sets. There are a variety of detailed sets which simulate both indoor and outdoor locations all over the world, all built to accommodate the two-foot-tall puppets. They are so fantastic I wish I could go and play around on them. Among several other mini-documentaries on the filmmaking process there is a feature on the pyrotechnics at work in the film. The special features also include storyboards and deleted scenes.\nMany people liked "Team America," but I can only recommend it as a good rental for people who enjoyed the film when it was in theaters (thought I suspect it would have been cooler on a big screen) or who are as into puppeteering as the John Cusack character in "Being John Malkovich" (a good movie which I am in no way comparing to "Team America"). I found "Team America" to be disappointingly unfunny.