Popular Broadway actor Gary Johnston is recruited by the elite counter-terrorism organization Team America: World Police. As the world begins to crumble around him, he must battle with terrorists and celebrities and fall in love.
When it was released in mid-October 2004 (my senior year of high school), “Team America: World Police” became something of an instant sensation. It was lewd, crude, stupid, and overly ridiculous. There were a ton of quotable moments and shocking imagery – these puppets are having sex! – in other words, this movie had the perfect recipe for hooking the teenage/young adult audience. The satirical nature of the material probably went right over most of our heads. Viewing it now, nearly 20 years after its initial release, the material still packs a punch, although it is not as side-splitting hilarious to me as it was to my 17-year-old self.
In “Team America: World Police,” “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone leave no stone unturned, creating a gloriously offensive attack on politics, political relations, celebrity, and national pride. The film begins with Team America fighting a group of terrorists in Paris, France. As with all locations in the movie, the locale is identified in relation to its distance from America (meaning the United States specifically). Paris is something of a caricature of itself (as are all locales in the movie). All of its notable landmarks are right next to each other and promptly destroyed by Team America in their fight against terrorism.
Following Paris, Broadway actor Gary Johnston is recruited to join the team. What follows is a series of poorly thought-out and executed operations, leaving no faction unscathed in the lampooning.
This new 4K Ultra HD™ disc release comes hot off the heels of Shout Factory’s Blu-ray release from 2023. To my eyes and ears, the 4K disc, which features only the theatrical cut of the movie, looks and sounds fine. For the image, I didn’t notice any weird anomalies. My only complaint is that the image was a little too dark (I can’t remember how the movie looked in the theater, so this could be the film’s intended look). Despite not featuring a new Atmos mix, the sound is clear, featuring plenty of surround activity and low-end effects. I had no trouble deciphering any of the dialogue.
The unrated cut of the movie and the special features are located on the Blu-ray disc. I’m not much for watching the extras. Here, these additional features seem to be a direct port of the features from the original DVD release. There are a handful of featurettes, deleted scenes, and a trailer. From what I spot-checked, they all appear to be in standard definition. A retrospective feature about the film’s impact might have been interesting.
While the movie is still worth a watch (although it might not be to your liking), this new release is best sought out by rabid fans, especially if you’re a viewer solely interested in the uncut version. I think Shout Factory’s Blu-ray from 2023 covers the movie reasonably well. The 4K presentation of the theatrical cut is nice, but the uncut version’s absence on 4K is disappointing. Although, to be fair, at least it was included.
Available on 4K Ultra HD™ June 25th