The Beastie Boys have donned plenty of disguises in their videos over the years, playing everything from cheesy cops to futuristic sanitation workers and famous Hollywood actors in their famed "Fight for Your Right Revisited" mini-movie.
But they break new territory in the "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" clip, which premiered on Monday night. The Spike Jonze joint draws inspiration from such diverse sources as "Robot Chicken," the 1960s "In Like Flint" spy spoof movies, "Toy Story," "Shaun of the Dead" and low-rent homemade YouTube videos.
Longtime pal and collaborator Jonze ("Where the Wild Things Are") sends up tough-guy action-hero legend G.I. Joe in the clip, which finds the B-Boys battling against assassins who chase them off the stage and into the snow as guns blaze, TNT is detonated and plastic bodies go up in toxic flames in the purposely hand-made looking clip.
In fact, Jonze made no attempt to fall back on CGI to make the video feel futuristic, instead leaving in the visible guide wires and manipulating the figures with hands that often intrude into the frame. It's not all just guns and fake blood, though: Halfway through the 11-minute version of the clip on the Boys' site, they are saved from a potentially deadly zombie attack by a giant Yeti who joins their team and hops a helicopter ride with them into the clouds, where, you guessed it, jet-pack-wearing assassins fire RPGs at them, killing their abominable pal.
In classic Beastie fashion, as they free-fall from their lofty perch, the boys engage in some witty banter, with MCA asking Mike D about the rumors he read online that he was planning on breaking from the crew and going solo. "I never said that," Mike responds as the free fall continues.
Chutes deployed, they manage to miraculously change outfits, only to be attacked by killer sharks. Luckily, track guest Santigold (in a Bond girl-style plunging neckline wetsuit) is on hand to bail them out, joining them in their submarine as they dodge torpedoes. The Boys finally get to relax at the end and chill on their boat, drinking wine coolers as Santi water-skis behind them and Jonze assures viewers that "no Yetis were harmed during the making of this film."