Team America
I went to our local cinema last night. This is something that, perhaps, I should do more often. I certainly enjoy it, but, as a smoker, I tend to shy away from putting myself in places where I can't smoke. At the cinema, not only can I not smoke, I pay for the privilege as well.
In any event, last night was kind of a pub outing. Four of us, who seldom socialise outside of our local watering hole, decided to give the above film a try.
Team America, which as I am sure most people are aware, is a film created by the creators of South Park.
It's film that has two distinct things to satirise. One being the approach to the "War on Terror", the other the supermarionation style of Gerry Anderson shows such as Thunderbirds and Captain scarlet.
Of the two, the most successful, in my view, is the latter. Perhaps, because it is easier, or perhaps because I'm an old Anderson fan who is pre-disposed towards this stuff.
From the outset with strings unashamedly visible, it is clear that the film makers are going to have as much fun with this as possible. Incredibly awkward scenes of martial arts, secret locations, explosions, chase scenes, sex scenes all add to the general sense of the absurd. In particular, a drawn out projectile vomit scene had me looking for the aisle so that I could roll in it. I think most people who know me, would not consider me the sort of person who would find vomit particularly funny.
With regard to the war on terror angle, I think that it is less clear that the film worked. At times, the humour of the puppets undercut the satire present in the bigger picture. There were also some mixed messages. Certainly there are times when the team went into action that they were shown to be disregardful of any ancillary damage done to the surroundings. OK, the point is that the American approach to terror is heavy handed and creates more problems than it solves. Or perhaps not. The climax of the film still requires that the same heavy handed team saves the world. Maybe the point is that America has no choice.
There is no easy reconciliation between the two, and perhaps that was the point.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the soundtrack. In many big screen movies, I find the soundtrack unnecessarily loud and obtrusive. Not so in this case. There are many occasions where the songs to become the focal point, but this only serves to emphasise the humour of the situation. Basically, there are some very funny songs.
Ultimately, my reaction to this film would depend on how much it made me laugh, and I'm happy to report that it did. A lot.
A highly credible 7 out of 10.
In any event, last night was kind of a pub outing. Four of us, who seldom socialise outside of our local watering hole, decided to give the above film a try.
Team America, which as I am sure most people are aware, is a film created by the creators of South Park.
It's film that has two distinct things to satirise. One being the approach to the "War on Terror", the other the supermarionation style of Gerry Anderson shows such as Thunderbirds and Captain scarlet.
Of the two, the most successful, in my view, is the latter. Perhaps, because it is easier, or perhaps because I'm an old Anderson fan who is pre-disposed towards this stuff.
From the outset with strings unashamedly visible, it is clear that the film makers are going to have as much fun with this as possible. Incredibly awkward scenes of martial arts, secret locations, explosions, chase scenes, sex scenes all add to the general sense of the absurd. In particular, a drawn out projectile vomit scene had me looking for the aisle so that I could roll in it. I think most people who know me, would not consider me the sort of person who would find vomit particularly funny.
With regard to the war on terror angle, I think that it is less clear that the film worked. At times, the humour of the puppets undercut the satire present in the bigger picture. There were also some mixed messages. Certainly there are times when the team went into action that they were shown to be disregardful of any ancillary damage done to the surroundings. OK, the point is that the American approach to terror is heavy handed and creates more problems than it solves. Or perhaps not. The climax of the film still requires that the same heavy handed team saves the world. Maybe the point is that America has no choice.
There is no easy reconciliation between the two, and perhaps that was the point.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the soundtrack. In many big screen movies, I find the soundtrack unnecessarily loud and obtrusive. Not so in this case. There are many occasions where the songs to become the focal point, but this only serves to emphasise the humour of the situation. Basically, there are some very funny songs.
Ultimately, my reaction to this film would depend on how much it made me laugh, and I'm happy to report that it did. A lot.
A highly credible 7 out of 10.
posted by Geeflax at 1:12 PM
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