Geniuses of satire Matt Stone and Trey Parker deliver gut-wrenching laughs with a cast of square-jawed marionettes fighting terror by way of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il in a relevantly childish reading of "freedom." Inspired by the ’60s British television series "Thunderbirds," Stone and Parker use Jerry Bruckheimer’s action movie plot template to parody America’s bullying military with one-third-scale puppets that give new meaning to "wooden acting." The ridicule hits a fever pitch anytime the comic duo’s brilliantly phrased songs modify the puppet action sequences (you’ll be chanting "Team America, F**k Yeah" for days). Kim Jong Il exploits the Film Actors Guild (including Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins, Samuel Jackson and Sean Penn) for his evil schemes while the Team America World Police recruit a Broadway actor to infiltrate an Iraqi terror cell. This all-out adult satire pulls no punches and takes no prisoners. Special features include French and Spanish subtitles, numerous making-of featurettes, a puppet test, deleted scenes, and animated storyboards. Aspect ratio is in 16×9 Widescreen format with balanced sound presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. (Movie – Five Stars, DVD features – Four Stars) Rated R, 98 mins. (Paramount)
