In an ultra-sensitive, opinionated and politically-fractured nation as our own, is it possible to produce effective satire anymore? The targets are more obvious than ever, and self-righteous moral authorities pounce on anything deemed mildly offensive.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone — who are, of course, the enfant terrible creators of "South Park" — couldn't care less about nuanced satire or our country's cultural climate, which their new epic puppet-action-movie-satire "Team America: World Police" demonstrates. And yet their "South Park" movie looks like "A Modest Proposal" by comparison.

What bothers the comedy duo most is Jerry Bruckheimer's brain-dead Hollywood blockbusters, which Parker and Stone gleefully structure their new epic puppet-action-movie-satire around. All the key elements are in place: our heroes are a disparate, heavily armed team, the future of the world is at stake, one-liners and violence abound, and so on.

The film has two selling points, though. After all, Parker and Stone could've satirized Bruckheimer every week on Comedy Central if they wanted, so a big-budget extravaganza needed to justify its $34 million price-tag.

One, and you may have picked up on this by now: all the characters are played by marionette puppets, two-foot tall wooden figures with highly expressive faces and jerky body movements. Parker and Stone, as usual, provide the voices.

And, two: the plot revolves around the global war against terrorism, an idea fraught enough for the White House to condemn the project upon its announcement last spring.

Parker and Stone remain apolitical, but for the record Parker is an avowed Republican, and Bush is conspicuously absent in the plot. Even so, the bipartisan "Team America" hardly broaches any pungent or relevant criticism against the Bush administration's handling of terrorism.

Surprisingly, their primary target is Hollywood, specifically actors who use their fame to become spokesmen for whichever trendy political cause they find worthy. It's a pretty narrow satirical focus for a film featuring North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il as its antagonist. Producer Scott Rudin might have a hard time getting certain left-leaning celebrities on the phone after they see themselves brutally decapitated, disemboweled and shot by Team America's fearless members.

The satire, political or otherwise, falls short in this respect: the barbs against Michael Moore, the cheap running gags, and even the scatological humor — save for a hilariously prolonged puking sequence — are all predictable and lazily assembled. Parker and Stone's other talents include profane musical numbers and a cheerful disregard for social niceties, each of which hits and misses, although Kim Jong's "I'm Ronely" (sic) is a bona fide showstopper.

Yet "Team America" is sort of the grandest, most expensive home movie ever made. While Parker and Stone likely spent a weekend writing the script in an inebriated frenzy, technicians and craftsmen spent months creating, designing and manufacturing thousands of sets, props and clothing for the marionettes. There's a palpable handmade quality to everything onscreen, and even if the jokes aren't working, you're mesmerized by the loving craft that went into the film.

I never thought I'd recommend a lowbrow comedy-satire purely because of its use of puppets, but such is the case during these confusing times of political ambiguity and moral unrest. It's still a shame that the generic Bruckheimer framework constricted Parker and Stone from unleashing any truly subversive comedy.

Grade: BC