Elite Squad: The Enemy Within [Blu-ray]

As an American the only real look into the crime in Brazil I have was the movie City of God. This movie took it to another level showing me perspectives of different kinds of cops, not just cops in general but the many flavors and it left me with a sense that theres no simply silver bullet solution to the problem. This is how I knew it was deep. Lots of movies try to convince you that theres just one button you can push or one person you can fire and everything will be OK. At the end of this movie I really felt that this problem was massively complicated but very human and real, something you can never really understand unless you live it. Which I intend to.

I watched this movie with some students/friends in Brazil. Had no idea what to expect but it was a page turner (if you will). Lots of insight of the political, financial and cultural upheavals faced by the masses there. Very good movie id you can get pass some adult scenes that can be a bit graphic.

This movie shows where the real corruption is in Rio de Janiero. If you like movies like Goodfellas and The Departed, you will love this movie. I also recommend to see the first movie, Elite Squad. I own both of these movies on DVD. The movie is in Portuguese with English subtitles.

A very pragmatic or realistic portrayal of few sincere police officers who are eventually betrayed by the system they so staunchly fought for.Set in the backdrop of Rio De Janeiro, it couldn't be better. I am from India and have heard real as well as fictional accounts of such stories. India is crippled similarly by corruption at various levels. One of the best no-nonsense-cop films I have seen. Wagner Moura is absolutely brilliant and charismatic

Excellent setup, brilliant execution and an endearing message send thrills through the spine. A story based on Brazilian politics, militia and drug dealers and how these professions blend to produce a dangerous society. I am sure that this movie will be generally true for many other countries around the world, and even some parts of the developed world. Very nice!

I havent watched a movie this good in a long time. I highly recommend the first movie too, its FREE on yootubers (as of July 2019). Both have EXCELLENT acting. It was really well made, meaning: I forgot they were actors. I highly recommemd for anyone in the military/law enforcement. Its realistic with NO romance to ruin the plot.

Watched this back to back with the first movie after discovering the extremely talented Wagner Moura in Narcos. I don't speak a word of Portuguese, but I found this movie completely riveting. I could not look away (and not just out of concern that I'd miss some subtitles.) I found the subtitles easy to read and follow while still not missing any parts of the actual movie. Cannot recommend highly enough.

For the first time, a prime movie had commercials, long commercials. Otherwise, I would give this movie 5 stars. What's going on here?

Okay, if you haven't seen the original  The Elite Squad [DVD ], then consider this a four star review, edging towards a five. The acting's good (damn good in some places - the talk show host for example), the action is good, it doesn't feel amateur and the protagonist's laconic voice-over keeps you in the loop. It's a semi-serious movie - so no Bruce Willis type antics - about a very serious subject that is fascincating in its own right.Great to watch. Interesting to observe.Right, that's my first opinion out of the way. ***Beware, possible spoilers ahead.***So, why a second opinion? Well, having watched and enjoyed the first movie, this otherwise good film gets dragged down to a three, losing a star to disappointment.First there's the characters. Nascimento gets a little more fleshed out here, but seemingly at the expense of Matthias, who suddenly becomes more skeletal. If you've seen the first movie, then the decisions Matthias makes in his brief appearances here just seem way out of character and incomprehensible. If you've not seen the first movie, he probably just comes across as a dick.The whole business with Fraga was a bit of a mess, especially with migrating Nascimento's ex-wife over to his side to create some family tension. Nice idea but there simply isn't room in the movie to explore it. The tense relationship between Nascimento and Fraga is told rather than shown. In the house scenes you don't really learn much else. You could have cut them out all together and concentrated more time on the relationship between Nascimento and his son, and then Fraga at the office.Fraga also got off a little too lightly in my opinion. It's as if the director wanted to rehabilitate the liberal intellectuals after their treatment in the first movie, so he removed all the shades of grey and made them all white. Fraga always considers he's right, and at the end he turns out to be right. And Nascimento eats humble pie and calls for the disbanding of his beloved BOPE. Sorry, that's too trite. A proper to-and-fro between the two different philosophies would have given us a proper exploration of the issues involved. Of course, this is more of a fast moving action movie, so perhaps something had to be sacrificed. But it falls well short of what we got in the first movie.Then there's the militias. Apparently the gangs extort the communities and run a protection racket. And when the militias take over, so do they. Say hello to the new boss, same as the old boss.Except that, under the new boss, it's safe to walk the streets again and everyone looks happier and the place less scummy. I mean, the new boss takes 90% of everything, but still the place thrives! I'm not familiar with Brazil or the militias (and I don't think their existence is actually fictional) so maybe I'm missing something. Perhaps the director is merely speculating on what would happen if the militias did take over a district, but if so it suffers from the same black and white problem given above. A little more show and a little less tell would have been helpful, with less air-time given to following the fat guy around all the time. It might have looked as informative as the first movie and less of a bogus setup then.Okay, if you've followed me this far down in the review, and if you haven't actually seen this movie yet, don't let my whinging put you off. Buy this movie. It's better than a lot of junk you might have seen in the cinema this year.Enjoy it.But seriously, when you're done with that, watch the first movie. It blew my mind more than this one did. Which probably explains my disappointment with this one. I simply expected more. The Elite Squad [DVD

After a prison riot calls for BOPE assistance, Col. Nascimento gets into trouble, when their heavy handed tactics are exposed by a supporter of human rights. But instead of sacking Nascimento, he is promoted by the politicians wanting to further their political power by taking a hard line against crime. From there Nascimento puts BOPE into over drive and smashes the drug dealers in the slums, but far from remedying the situation it just creates a gaping hole, ready to be exploited by the dirty cops who now run the streets. Not only this but corruption is rooted firmly within the system, meaning that before long, Nascimento is forced to fight some very personal battles for justice...A good follow up to the first film, with plenty of violence and brutality peppering the political storyline. This time out we get to see that Nascimento isn't quite the fascist we all thought he was in Elite Squad, which if I'm honest is a bit of a shame but probably necessary for film popularity and character development! If you were being picky, you could say that some of the time~lines don't quite add up (his 16yr old son etc) but as far as I was concerned, similar with the original outings social comment, it didn't bother me and I just went with it.When the dust settles, I have to say that I probably didn't like this quite as much as its predecessor but don't take that as a warning, because this is still highly entertaining, especially if you liked Elite Squad or for that matter enjoy world crime cinema.The blu ray is ridiculously cheap at the moment (£2.50ish) meaning that even with its lack of bountiful extras (just a trailer and making of) its still a steal..Went onto the BBFC website after watching this, with an inkling that a murder may have been cut but they said not, unless it was cut before submission which I doubt.4/5 stars.

This movie, like it's predecessor pulls no punches. It is brutal without doubt but certainly not gratuitous. This is an action flick that Hollywood could never make.The storyline is an evolution of the original movie and an intelligent one at that - much more than simply more of the same. Again an approach to be applauded. One or two timeline inconsistencies aside the development of the central characters (Col Nasciemento's family for example) are good. Brazil's very 'bad cops' are also well portrayed and remain topical. Wagner Moura continues to provide a towering performance as the morally superior Col Nasciemento sweeping aside political correctness to get his filthy job done for the good of the people.A violent movie by all accounts but as with the previous movie one with a solid morality at its heart. Recommended.

The first Elite Squad movie was a riveting experience. In that one it is seen that the drug gangs inhabiting the slums of Rio are spreading like a cancer and the local police is either inept or corrupt, calling for a fascistic solution in the form of BOPE, a courageous, incorruptible and brutal unit dedicated to eradicating these criminals even if it means collateral damage. In the sequel 'The Enemy Within', after a violent standoff between prisoners and BOPE squad, its commander Nascimento is transferred and promoted to an undersecretary position which he aims to use to strengthen BOPE's mission. But he gradually comes to realize that the eradication of one form of crime from the slums only leads to its replacement by another since the political system thrives on corruption and self-serving. The film ends on a grim but not wholly nihilistic note. The Enemy Within is every bit as intense as its predecessor, whether exploring the ideological differences of its characters or exploding into visceral street violence.The blu-ray features a very strong transfer and a walloping soundtrack, The bonus feature is an hour-long making of with a lot of input from the director about the themes and continuity of his films. Highly recommended to film buffs.

This follow up to the excellent Elite Squad movie of 2007 veers a little too much into imaginary scenarios compared to the first offering.The ever reliable Wagner Moura returns as Lieutenant-Colonel Roberto Nascimento, but he is relegated to a desk for much of the film. Andre Ramiro as Aspirante Matias also has a smaller, almost inconsequential role. Thus much of the action scenes lack the tension that comes with relating closely to the main protagonists.Nevertheless the direction far exceeds what we have to put with from mainstay Hollywood films. The screenplay is raw and unforgiving, portraying Rio's corrupt underbelly to perfection.This is not Sylvester Stallone or Jason Statham territory. This is intelligent 'fly on the wall' drama.