Team America: World Police

The whole thing plays like Thunderbirds Goes to Hell and will doubtless offend all those numskulls who complained about the BBC's transmission of Jerry Springer: The Opera. For that alone, it gets my vote.

Raunchy action comedy from South Park team isn't for kids.

Juvenile in the worst sense: confused and frightened by the adult world, and begging to be protected.

Worse, it loses its edge early on, Stone and Parker not going far enough for the attacks to be anything other than purely prurient.

A film that works on every imaginable: as a comedy, as sharp political commentary, as a send-up of bombastic action flicks, even as a musical.

Whatever the case, at just over 90 minutes, with rarely any time to slow down, Team America is the sort of bold experiment that delivers plenty of laughs and a clear level of ambition on display. The craft alone is enough to warrant a look.

Team America: World Police has South Park evil geniuses Trey Parker and Matt Stone doing what they do best: savagely making fun of big-game targets while burning every bridge around them

For grown-ups, this is righteous, riotous immaturity at its most gratifying.

What’s surprising is some of its best material isn’t even humor – it’s the darkness that seeps in with the characters and the story.