Team America: World Police has a lot going for it. The idea of using puppets is in itself ingenious, well chosen and very well executed. Much more fun than the original, both puppet-wise (Thunderbirds) and actor-wise (live action hero movies). Where it horribly fails is in it's morality. In the end, this movie is much like the Fox 'news' department in that it seems to take the views of the neoconservatives as gospel, thereby turning itself into a weapon of mass manipulation. When people in the entertainment industry turn into liberal spokespersons, most harm they can do is bore us to death. On the other hand, when people in that same industry turn into propagandists of a regime that is suspect at best, and may someday be exposed as McCarthy times a thousand, they are playing with fire. Leni Riefenstahl would have struggled to make such a reactionary endorsement for her favorite 'war president' of that era. Satire should be independent and critical of regimes, not endorse the worst forms of conservatism and bigotry they represent. The uneasy feeling of hearing views expressed that are shared by the people who pull Bush's cords, spoils what could have been a great cinematic experience.
