Elite Squad (2007) User Reviews

Turned out really, really well

[jacob-noergaard · 8/10 · 23 November 2008]

Having seen "Cidade de Deus" and thoroughly enjoyed it (though it is a grim tale), I was at first having high hopes for "Tropa de Elite". Then I thought that it could never reach the same high standards, and my hopes were lowered a great deal.

About 3 months ago I happened to see about 15 minutes of the movie, and that lowered my hopes even more. How wrong I was to judge such a great movie on what must have been an unfortunate 15 minutes.

I won't go into detail about the story, but it is both believable and compelling. Like "Cidade..." this is no fairy tale. It's the world as it is. No more, no less. Of course, there might not be that many guns blazing in reality, but I'd reckon this isn't very far off.

We feel the pain, the lack of morale and the despair and hopelessness. Photography is spot on, the acting is both fantastic and realistic. "Tropa de Elite" never went into the big theaters here in Denmark which is rather unfortunate, since it's a true gem. Instead we get loads of mainstream crap. Not to sound arrogant, I watch loads of mainstream movies too (voluntarily, even), but it's movies like this that made me love movies as fondly as I do.

Do yourself a favour. Get this on DVD. See it. Feel the pain. Immerge yourself in the desperate world. Then, after it's all over, enjoy your life, a life that will seem much, much brighter after this.

BOPE makes SWAT look like a bunch of girl scouts

[nvillesanti · 9/10 · 9 June 2010]

After watching the amazing movie, City of God, a few years ago I just wanted to see more. Although Tropa de Elite has the same raw look of City of God, is different in content.

Tropa de Elite is about a group of Rio de Janeiro cops that grow tired of the system and declare war against crime and corruption and literally aren't taking any prisoners to the point that you just can't help but cheer for BOPE no matter their brutal methods of interrogation.

The photography is stunning and the action is extreme and realistic. You have to see this movie more than once because there is so much going in terms of plot and action that you might miss it. The story is well put together and the acting is as good as any, but what I liked the most was the sense of dread BOPE was able to inflict on the minds of criminals and corrupt cops. If you like City of God and City of Men, you will absolutely love Tropa de Elite. Highly recommended!

It's not City of God, but it comes close...

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 23 March 2015]

ELITE SQUAD is another top-notch Brazilian thriller following in the footsteps of CITY OF GOD (the two films share a writer, I believe). Although the storyline is completely different, the two films share plenty of stylistic similarities: the gritty, on-the-streets style filming, the realism, the multi-layered storytelling, the realistic and sympathetic characters, the hectic pace.

Needless to say that this is an excellent film that offers a thorough exploration of policing in Brazil and all of the violence and corruption that comes with it. ELITE SQUAD does tackle the menace of drug gangs and the like but that's not the sole focus here; instead we learn of the everyday corruption present in all aspects of the police force. The dialogue crackles with electricity and the performances are exemplary, particularly from Andre Ramiro, who plays my favourite character, a naive law student drawn into a dark and murky world.

Fizzing with energy and loaded with brutal violence, ELITE SQUAD is as good as it gets for a contemporary thriller and it's also one of those films that educates as well as entertains. Be warned, it pulls no punches. A sequel, ELITE SQUAD: THE ENEMY WITHIN follows, and inevitably I have to track it down.

Amazingly good... and horrifying

[lurple · 10/10 · 12 November 2007]

Tropa de Elite is an amazingly good film; by turns brutally real and horrifyingly hilarious.

It claims to be based on a true story and I find that sadly believable. The main plot revolves around the captain of an elite police unit trying to find a replacement for himself, while dealing with the birth of his child and the horrendous stress of his job, and a mission to clear out a dangerously violent slum.

There are no wholly good people in the movie, and it's frighteningly easy to compare some of what goes on to things happening in the USA (and other places) today. That said, the system of government and policing portrayed comes across as so amazingly inept and awful that it's almost like something straight out of a nightmarish sci-fi dystopia.

If I had to compare it to other movies, it comes off as a cross between Brazil, Office Space, and Full Metal Jacket. Not for the weak of stomach, and you may find yourself greatly disagreeing with the ideals of various groups portrayed (which I believe is part of the point), but I would be enormously surprised if this movie doesn't make you think and give you something to talk about.

Holy mother of corruption and truculence!!!

[diego_moita · 10/10 · 17 October 2007]

"City of God" was just a perfect movie. "Elite Squad" goes beyond that; it's a WTF movie.

Brutal realism, terrific acting (Wagner Moura... wow), brilliant script and plot, precise edition, unforgettable quotes... This movie is just insanely good.

If you live in a developed country you'll probably think this is just another thriller. For anyone living in a 3rd country it's way more than that: it's a brutal picture of our degradation and corruption, a revelation that runs over you like a truck.

The most striking aspect about the movie is how clearly it shows how everyone is at the same time guilty and victim in the whole war against drugs: the do-gooders NGOs, the politicians, the corrupt police and the not-corrupt but truculent "Elite Squad". It shows it precisely but with sense of humor and very smartly. In this war, everyone that proclaim to have moral and values is actually hiding skeletons in the closet. It's all a story of gangsters against gangsters in a degraded society.

This movie will make you think, then it will make you angry, then you will want to fight.

[gugario · 10/10 · 25 August 2007]

The movie tells the story of BOPE, which is equivalent to the SWAT in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Only difference is that, in Rio, the police is so corrupt, that they often must fight for themselves.

The movie has action - a lot of action-, and it also touches on deep sociological problems that plague the city to these days. It's a great compliment to City of God and, in my opinion, even better. City of God shows how the drug problem started in Rio. This movie shows where the city is now.

Vagner Moura is perfect in his role. He's a great good-bad guy. The movie is brilliant.

A hell of a story...but not the whole story

[debblyst · 7/10 · 21 October 2007]

"Tropa de Elite" isn't merely one more Brazilian film on urban violence; it's a cathartic socio-cultural phenomenon of almost unprecedented proportions in Brazil, the omnipresent theme on TV talk shows, newspapers articles, bars and dinner tables. Prior to its theatrical release this October, "Tropa" was seen by an estimated record 11 million people who bought pirate DVD copies or illegally downloaded it on the net (the biggest Brazilian box-office success in the last 25 years was "2 Filhos de Francisco" with 5,5 million tickets sold).

The reaction is passionately polarized: some call it the best Brazilian movie since "City of God" -- a definite influence here, in the cinematography, editing and screenplay structure, with an omniscient narrator and use of mixed chronology -- exposing the endemic corruption of Rio de Janeiro's police force and the "unorthodox" methods used by BOPE (the self-called "incorruptible" elite squad of Rio's military police force, created in 1978 and inspired by the U.S. SWAT) that include torture and shoot-first-ask-later modus operandi in the ultra-violent, ever-growing drug war in Rio's favelas. Others have publicly attacked it as fascist in its glorification of BOPE, its sadistic depiction of torture and the reductionist, simple-minded vision of the complex issues involving violence/ drugs/police corruption in Rio.

Director José Padilha and co-writer Rodrigo Pimentel (a former BOPE captain who left the squad for disagreeing with its praxis) had collaborated in the extraordinary "Bus 174", a multi-faceted documentary on Rio's violence. In "Tropa", they controversially chose to give us a deliberately biased vision of the problem: from the start we're stuck with one man, the overstressed, rebellious, self-righteous Capt Nascimento (Wagner Moura) in his journey into becoming a psychopathic sadist and hot-blooded killer, who believes drug traffic is caused by the druggie middle-class bourgeoisie (as if the poor didn't do drugs!) and claims the solution is to kill all traffickers. To Nascimento, corruption is abominable; torture isn't.

Nascimento is the film's absolute protagonist, narrator, commentator and "truth-puker". In his mind, all non-elite policemen are corrupt and incompetent, all charity NGOs in the favelas are cover-up fraudulent enterprises, all college students are useless double-faced potheads, and legal procedures are an inefficient waste of time. He's nearer to the traffickers' violent, revenge-based, lawless ethics than he's ever able to realize.

"There's nothing wrong with shooting people if you shoot the right people", used to say Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry back in the 1970s, and it could well be Capt. Nascimento's motto. He's a vigilante in uniform, in the tradition of the executioners played by Eastwood, Bronson, Stallone and 24 Hours' Jack Bauer; he's the heir to the 1970s' Brazilian military regime know-how on torture. Yet, the film tries hard at "humanizing" Nascimento: his wife's pregnant, his marriage falters, he's moved to tears by the suffering of a mother who lost her son in the traffic war, he's in medication for his panic attacks. AND he's trying to save the POPE's life, no less!

All the other characters are just rough sketches or caricatures. The one character who might be the classical "narrator/observer" (like Buscapé/Rocket in "City of God") is the idealist, Foucault-reading aspiring police officer Mathias (though it's hard to believe an aspiring officer could afford to attend Rio's most expensive law school). But Mathias, too, is finally co-opted by the brainwashing "Full-Metal-Jacket"-like BOPE training that changes him into an amoral beast fueled with rage.

Padilha says he wanted to portray Nascimento as a monster, and that audiences who are hailing Nascimento as a "hero" and BOPE as a "model" institution have caught him by surprise -- oh, really? Padilha is probably being sarcastic, naive or silly: everybody knows movie vigilante cops have been consistently idolized the world over (and co- writer Pimentel has publicly disagreed, stating the "Tropa" is clearly pro-BOPE). The graphic, sadistic scenes of torture -- supposedly meant to inspire disgust -- make the delight of a large vigilante-minded part of the audience. And Wagner Moura's extraordinary, scary performance as Nascimento is unsettling: we can't dismiss him as a stupid fascist the way we dismissed inarticulate stiffs like Bronson, Seagal or Stallone. The fact is that there's now a BOPE cult-following, with BOPE's logo (a skull pierced by pistols and knives) reproduced on t-shirts and underwear, BOPE officers being cheered in the streets in their armored "glory", and young kids (from all social classes) mimicking the film's "bag-in-the-head torture" as a new bullying style.

Militarists and pacifists will hardly change sides after the watching the film; militarists will have multiple orgasms and pacifists will cringe in horror. The filmmakers aren't interested in seriously discussing the drug issue (legalization is not even mentioned as an option). Nor in exposing Rio's drug traffic's multi-fingered interconnections, the zillion-dollar, highly organized international business involving farmers, money-washing executives, chemistry labs, gun-runners, bankers, politicians, accountants, lawyers, transport systems, etc. Nor in showing the real victims: the majority of the favela inhabitants, who aren't involved in the drug business but have to live under its rules, mere "extras" whose fate (in movies and in real life) is to be used, humiliated, segregated or, worse, wounded/killed by random bullets from BOTH policemen and traffickers.

"Tropa" is a must-see film, but it's misleading and entrapping: by opting for an "open", "what would YOU do?" ending (probably influenced by the breathtaking finale of "Paradise Now"), the filmmakers demands us to take sides about a very, VERY complex issue they've shown us only ONE angle of. "Tropa" is cinematically dazzling, but so physically and ideologically nauseating you'll need an antidote -- be sure to also watch the faceted, influential documentary "Notícias de uma Guerra Particular" and be aware of many other angles to a terrible reality that plagues not only Rio, but most of Third World's chaotic, no-man's-land, way out-of- control big cities.

An impressive film (shame about the superficial and reactionary reviews)

[kcollis1985 · 9/10 · 24 October 2008]

Elite Squad is an impressive and enjoyable film. It is well directed, well acted, and well worth watching.

There has been a lot of criticism of Elite Squad for being fascist. Such a perspective is disappointingly superficial. Too many critics have failed to distinguish the narrative perspective from the ideological perspective of the film. Although an admittedly reactionary and authoritarian BOPE member, Captain Nascimento, narrates it, the film's primary criticisms are regarding low pay for police, systemic corruption, and, the middle class's irresponsible consumption of drugs. As for any feeling that the brutal violence is justified that a viewer may be left with, this has more to do with the fact that in certain extreme circumstances desperate times call for desperate measures.

Awesome, shocking, brutal and brilliant.

[sullivac · 2 July 2011]

This is a complex film not in plot, but in the weave of the characters and how morality is completely blurred. I have watched over 100 films this year and this is in the top three I've stumbled across.

The acting, cinematography, plot, characters and the way this unfolds, will be loved by any fans of the City of God. This is like a way way more realistic portrayal of why all this dreadful stuff keeps going on, seen from several sides of the conflict.

The three main characters - Captain Niscamento of the Elite squad - paranoid, troubled, stressed but somehow holding it together. Andre Matias, would-be lawyer and member of the squad - who discovers that being a cop will cut him off from living normally. And Neto - hard man, yes sir, no sir tough lead in the squad, spilling lots of claret around the slums.

The sets are amazing - there is a scene in the slums where abandoned houses cover the landscape and are used for a gun battle. The shells of the properties erupt like rotten teeth from the rubble and i've never seen anything like it. There are plenty more examples.

This film is so well made it will appeal to many genre lovers. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Gritty and realistic - but oh so one-sided at times . . .

[Chris_Docker · 6/10 · 2 August 2008]

If there hadn't been City of God, then Elite Squad might have made even more impact. But although it milks similar roots (the violence of Rio de Janeiro's poor areas), it at times feels as if it is doing just that – milking it – even if the details have been meticulously researched and re-created.

Prior to the visit of the Pope, the Rio authorities try a clean-up operation so there is no danger to his holiness (who wants to stay among the poor). Ironically, the Pope's visit thus engenders a spate of violence as gangs battle with the elite 'BOPE' police squad. BOPE has additional problems with the regular police, who are endemically corrupt and keep the peace through a system of gentle bribery. Given that a policeman earns about the same as a bus conductor, the 'bribery' is arguably less awful (for the most part) than it sounds, especially when kept within decent levels.

It should be added that the drug squads who run the slums not only police the slums (by and large) more effectively than the police do the regular areas, but are largely beneficent – for instance paying hospital bills or doing other kindnesses. They have only two rules – don't sell drugs on my patch and don't do anything to arouse police attention (such as mugging tourists in the slums). Many slums are therefore safer than the main tourist areas like Copacabana, and this is both from my own observation, visiting Brasil for many years, and from the accounts of people there. It is a two tiers society that, for the most part, live entirely separately. But, "when honest cops go into the slums, bad sh*t usually happens." (The main city, away from slums and tourist areas, is much like any other modern metropolis for safety, facilities, the arts and business.) It is perhaps no wonder that, however accurate the film is, it has aroused the ire of independent filmmakers in the famous carnaval city. As I sat in a restaurant on Copacabana beach, two independent filmmakers explained at length how they deplored the image that such films pumped out at the world (Elite Squad did rather well at the Berlin Festival). It is a far cry from the more balanced, but now dated, look of such films as Black Orpheus. As most people are unaware of the richness of Rio, it might be compared to making films exclusively about Bronx violence if no-one knew of the greatness of New York City.

Further ironies go unmentioned. The 'drugs problem', seen by westerners as stemming from South America, is seen by Brasilians as an American one (caused by American user demand). In Rio, American guns are traded for Colombian drugs. Neither are of great interest to Brasilians. And although the country is predominantly Roman Catholic, the papal visit to the slums can also be seen as an attempt to make inroads on the (more) indigenous and non-proselytising religions like Candoble that survive in such areas. Operation Holiness is 'plain foolishness.' One policeman says he would rather use his own money to pay for a good room for the Pope in Copacabana than protect him in the badlands.

One of the good moral points the film makes rather well is how rich kids who deal in a little weed are ignored. Whereas those in the slums are brutalised. The disparity is highlighted by a classroom discussion.

Elite Squad is a gritty, realistic action-heavy fight between 'good guys' and 'bad guys'. A lot of ordinary people in both camps get murdered and tortured along the way. The problem with Elite Squad is not the authenticity of what it includes but the relevance of what it leaves out.

A movie depicting the harsh reality and politics of Rio de Janeiro

[noob09 · 10/10 · 2 October 2007]

Elite Squad has in my opinion surpassed the genius of Cidade de Deus. The movie is shot like a documentary, many times in fact I felt like I was intrigued and interested on how and what the police does to get around the city.

It is basically about the two main characters working their way up the police academy in Rio until they reach the BOPE unit. The training is shown to be very harsh, sometimes even dehumanizing. The movie depicts life of police men in the city and what they do to overcome the unfortunate bureaucracies. I will try hold myself to not say anymore because I do not want to spoil it for you.

This movie is violent. It is not unnecessary violence, because its depictions are said to be accurate. (Rio politicians have spoken about its veracity).

Even the production of this masterpiece was bounded by violence. While in production, part of the crew was kidnapped. An unedited version of Elite Squad together with dozens of fake weapons were stolen as well.

You will be amazed through out the whole film, thats a promise.

Style over content. Glorification of police violence. Still a reasonably good, grim portrait of poverty driven drug wars.

[imseeg · 7/10 · 20 July 2019]

Glorification of police violence dominates this story about the drug wars in the incredibly poverty stricken slums of Brazil. It could have been a good character driven movie about the social misery the poor people are suffering from in these slums of Brazil, but instead the viewpoint from the corrupt violent police is being taken. Violence reigns over character development, that's my biggest gripe.

Solely judged as an "entertaining" movie, it is a suspenseful, though somewhat chaotic action movie, with some character development, yet barely enough though to be able to really sympathize with either one of the characters.

The story: a continuous police terror raid on the poverty stricken slums of Brazil. Extremely violent, to the point where so many people get killed one after the other it becomes numbing. Still quite impressive in a grim, violent way.

Realist drama, sensational subject.

[redrawn · 3/10 · 19 December 2012]

Tropa de Elite plays out like a fascist recruitment video.

My main problem with this film comes from its exploitation of a real world problem, and creating a loud, violent action movie, and welding it to a pro-authority message.

The film is shot in a manner similar to other recent Brazilian crime fair, but instead of the bursting intensity of City of God, the directors shoot in drab colours, with a drab lead, expounding a far from subtle, and rather sinister, social message.

Although its quick, chopping editing should suggest urgency, we are left with a barely passable story of characters strewn together, in a bumbling action thriller.

Terrific Thriller

[welingto-1 · 10/10 · 16 August 2007]

If you loved City of God and Carandiru, you have to see this movie. Maybe it's the most complex Brazilian movie about violence. It combines a discussion about the problem of violence in Rio de Janeiro, the police corruption and the society responsibility and, what is more important, Elite Squad is a terrific thriller: nervous, intriguing and entertaining. Cinema at it's best.

Bráulio Mantovani, from City of God, wrote the screenplay and Daniel Rezend, also from CDD, is the editor (Both nominated to the Oscar).

Above, one article about the film:

"WASHINGTON (Reuters Life!)

characters lie dead in the street within minutes of the opening of Brazilian director Jose Padilha's new film which he hopes will shed new light on gang violence and police corruption in his country.

"Elite Squad," which Padilha wrote with former Rio police officer Rodrigo Pimentel, follows two young Rio de Janeiro police officers as their fantasy of implementing law and order disintegrates into bloodshed and corruption.

It details night raids through the makeshift homes of the city's hillside slums known as favelas, as well as the stark class differences that feed an appetite for riches among many of its poor residents.

Padilha, 39, said he had originally hoped to use the information he received from Pimentel for a documentary but quickly realized that it would not be feasible.

"How would I do this, go to corrupt cops with cameras?" he asks. "If I tried to make this film as a documentary, it would probably get me killed." Padilha, whose highly-acclaimed debut film "Bus 174" about a real-life bus hijacking in Rio was released in 2002, has strived to make the film as realistic as possible, shooting much of the film on the favelas' narrow streets.

"Elite Squad" is based on Pimentel's account of his tenure as captain of Rio's elite police force which has come under attack by Amnesty International for brutality.

Like "Bus 174," it exposes the darker elements of Brazil that contrast vividly with the nation's colorful, extravagant Carnival celebrations."

Great Movie

[safinahmed · 10/10 · 16 February 2008]

This is one hell of a movie. I don't like to give 10 ratings to movies, because it's hard to find a movie that is excellent, but this one is.

While you watch the movie it's unavoidable to compare it to City of God (Cidade de Deus), and until the middle of the movie I was thinking to my self that City Of God was a better movie then this one, but when this movie ends and I summed everything I saw, it's was harder to choose one, but I believe this one is better, for several reasons.

First of all this movie has a great story, and focuses on real life issues, I'm not from Brazil, but I know some of this stuff is true. This story has emotion, feelings, twists, action, romance and even comedy for those who understand Portuguese I would say "Bota ai na conta do Papa" is a real funny statement. One of the things I loved about this movie was the acting, where Wagner Moura does one hell of a job, as a Captain trying to find a substitute so he can leave his job and be with his family. I wouldn't say I'm surprised because Brazilians are great actors, but still, I loved it.

In conclusion, if you like action, and like City of God, then you should definitely watch this movie.

Not everyone is able to understand what this movie is about

[jadougherty-1 · 10/10 · 18 April 2008]

This movie will certainly be seen as another (perhaps good) thriller by most of the non- Brazilian audience. But the movie is not just that, in fact, it's way more than that. Several good thriller movies plenty of violence and shootings scenes have been produced in the last couple decades. But one thing is to inject a lot of money to make a movie on gratuitous violence and rely on special effects to make it get good critics, which then bring the desired money that moves the cinema industry. This is Hollywood, and this is definitely not what Elite Squad is about. The movie has raised and keeps raising important social questions among Brazilian citizens. The way the director tells the story without taking part in any side is genial; contrary to most north American movies, there's no good or bad guy in the story, the situation got to a point where things simply are the way they are. No particular point of view prevails and the viewer gets out of the movie with mixed sensations about what to think about all he sees. Victims of Brazil violence praise Captain Nascimento character to a level of national hero, whereas he ends by being hated by many others who dispraise his ignorance on human rights. There's also a thesis in the movie sustaining that all the violence is fruit of drug commerce, which would exist because the middle and high Brazilian classes buy the drugs to sustain their hedonistic life style. These are the same people that frequent movie theaters in Brazil, create the public opinion, and constitute the Brazilian intellectual society. Therefore – independently of the thesis being right or wrong – the movie somewhat also points the finger to the audience and blames it for all the violence. I think this is also genial, but one has to live there to really feel the whip of this blaming (again, one must have a bit of Brazil culture to really appreciate this movie). While you sit with your popcorn and hope for watching a good thriller, bear in mind that the violence you are seeing in Elite Squad is happening at this very moment, and this is what distinguishes this movie from other violent movies you saw.

It's not only about the fun you are going to have watching this peace of work but the truth you are going to see on it.

[mwellisch · 10/10 · 27 August 2007]

Elite Squad is a most see movie. Despite all of the frenesi it's causing all around, it has a good storyline, excellent screenplay and a brilliant performance from all the cast in the movie, especially Wagner Moura who deserves all prizes he can get for this great performance.

Basically the movie explores the fight between drug dealers and corrupt cops against the good policemen's, some of them from the military police force and most of them from BOPE. That's the way the director Padilha's sees this fight which is not entirely true. Although it shows how the corruption of the Military Police Force works out in Brazil, how the system is used against itself and how the bureaucracy makes everything so difficult that it's almost impossible for honest people to deal with their own personal issues without dealing with corruption. And by the way, that's entirely true.

The baseline of the movie is the story of Nascimento's, who is the captain of BOPE (Special Forces Operations Battalion) which can be compared to SWAT. Nascimento needs a replacement and he needs to find the right person, someone who has all of the qualities the job demands. Two guys come up to be this person but none of them have all it takes. Neto has the attitude, the heart, but he's not smart and centered as he's best buddy Matias. The only thing they have in common which is mandatory for the job is the honesty and the will of changing things for the better.

The movie has all the elements that makes us go to a movie theater. It has a storyline, it has action thriller, and it has a great performance from the cast, all of them.

If you are planning to spend your money in another blockbuster, don't do it! Give a chance to this great movie that explores the WAR that we, from Rio de Janeiro, have to deal with everyday. It's not only about the fun you are going to have watching this peace of work but the truth you are going to see on it.

Shocking and Thought-Provoking, "Tropa de Elite" more than lives up to the hype

[Benedict_Cumberbatch · 9 June 2008]

When the "favela reality" movies seem to be running out of 'ideas' - trying to profit by copying the acclaimed "City of God" over and over -, director José Padilha (of the equally engrossing documentary "Bus 174") brings us "Tropa de Elite" ("Elite Squad"), the most controversial Brazilian film in a long time, having sold millions of pirated DVD copies even before its theatrical release (and still managed to become the biggest Brazilian movie event of 2007).

"Elite Squad" shows the routine of a group of cops in Rio de Janeiro, and the inhumane training they have to go through in order to become a BOPE (Special Police Operation Battalion) captain, the policemen who are supposed to fight drug trafficking, in the rawest possible way. Wagner Moura ("God Is Brazilian"), one of the most versatile Brazilian actors of his generation, delivers a bravura performance as Captain Nascimento, who wants to quit his job in order to dedicate himself to his newly-born son, but has an important mission before that: finding the right replacement.

"Elite Squad" is not as stylized or visually compelling as Fernando Meirelles/Kátia Lund's "City of God" (the comparison is inevitable), but that's not a flaw. The movie is violent but realistic, far from sheer Hollywood gore-fest (i.e. Scorsese's over-hyped "The Departed"), and offers some extremely provocative discussions about Brazil's social chaos - and also a disarmingly blunt, love it or hate it narration. Surprise winner of the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival (competing with other strong titles, including Paul Thomas Anderson's brilliant "There Will Be Blood"), "Elite Squad" is a must-see. 10/10.

Michael Bay's "Full Metal Jacket"

[Quicksand · 6/10 · 9 March 2011]

When rating or reviewing an American movie, the process is simple: Decide how much you liked the movie in a scale of 1 to 10. Usually this pertains to how much you enjoyed the story, or the style of filmmaking, or the actors. Most American movies are made for mass consumption.

On these terms, "Elite Squad" succeeds because it's a well-told, fast-paced story, told with the simplistic, high-on-adrenaline documentary style of filmmaking. There are a few good shots, but mostly the director just cares about getting in the face of the viewer, and quickening their pulse. For the most part, he succeeds.

But, this being Brazil, we must also look at the movie from another perspective: What is it trying to say? For certain, you can just ignore the politics of the film and focus on the gun battles, but there are long scenes of cops with their wives and girlfriends, or going through training, which for the "Squad" of the title, is really more like boot-camp.

I don't live in Brazil, I have never been to Brazil, but from my perspective the politics behind the film are shockingly naive. The characters claim to be fighting this great evil, slowly caving under the pressure of being the best cops in their nation, surrounded by corruption and dishonesty on all sides. And at the same time, they routinely lump in hard drug users, pimps, pot-smokers, and abortionists in the exact same category, while ignoring blackmail, bribery, and having beers after work. The film is not trying to say something about these cops-- it agrees with them, the protagonist spending the entire film training possible replacements, speaking passionately about the top two candidates via voice-over narration, as he hopes and prays the new squad leader will run the squad in exactly the same way as it was before.

If Brazil is this conservative from top to bottom, no wonder it's falling apart. "City of God" made us look at the favelas, the type of life their residents live in every day, and how hard it is to escape. It made us feel, and made us sympathize. In "Elite Squad," there is not a single redeeming character, and every male in it destroys countless others for his own selfish needs... while each and every woman and child is just there to get in the way, or else serve as punching bags.

The criminals are psychotic, the cops equally so, with innocent bystanders caught up either in the middle, or ignoring things from the sidelines. If director Jose Padilha is trying to tell us anything, it's "Brazil is an awful place, populated by awful people." I'm sure that's not true. But as long as the body count keeps stacking up, why would the audience care?

Filmmaking: 8/10 (its current IMDb average). Politically, 4/10. Bill O'Reilly would love this movie, because its message is even more idiotic than any movie Michael Bay ever made: "If we can only arrest or kill every pimp, every pot-smoker, every prostitute and every person who has an abortion, the country will be great again." Not only is that an impossible goal, it's the statement of an insane person. Compared to this, "Transformers" is positively intellectual.

dark violent brutal world

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 30 December 2015]

It's 1997 Rio de Janeiro. Neto and Matias fire on a crowd of partying criminals. They are police disillusioned with the corruption. Captain Nascimento from the elite BOPE (Special Police Operation Battalion) lead his squad into battle. The movie goes back six months earlier. Neto and Matias are new recruits. The Pope is coming to Rio and BOPE has to clean up the slums.

I got really annoyed at the non-stop narration with the start of the movie. I also wish the actors playing Neto and Matias are more charismatic. The story is told in a disjointed fashion. There is an ultra-realism about the locations and the people. It is a violent reaction to the crime-ridden slums.

GRANDIOSO

[andrewchristianjr · 8/10 · 27 October 2019]

My first brazilian film. Intense, hectic, critical and lots of strong violent actions. first act: ok, second act: good, third act: Grandioso! 👍

Realistic and violent picture about a Special Police Battalion attempting to take down drug dealers and killers in Rio De Janeiro

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 25 August 2014]

Excellent and thrilling film based on real events . 1997, Captain Nascimento (Wagner Mouraw , this character was based on screenwriter Rodrigo Pimentel) has to find a substitute for his occupation while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope comes to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil . On the streets of Rio only the elite survive . The movie deals about BOPE , a Special Operations Squad similar to American SWAT and their fight against factions in Favelas Rio Janeiro . Nascimento have to choose a replacement between Neto (Junqueira) and Matias (Andre Ramiro , this role was based on screenwriter André Batista , former members of the BOPE squad) who leads the dangerous assignment to take down the drug-lords .

This stirring film has breathless , brutal scenes , a gut punch of an action film . It concerns on a special unit of urban combat taking on the daily challenges of dealing with pressure at home and fighting an unnamed war on Rio Janeiro slums . Interesting and brooding screenplay from the Academy Award nominated writer of City of God . Many critics have considered as a tremendous movie , on the level of some of the Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola pictures . A must see, a cross between the Departed , The Wire and City of God . It's a thought-provoking and clever studio of an Elite Squad , about police corruption , and unflinching remark at the underbelly of Rio Janeiro , plenty of drug-lords , burglars and assassins . Runtime film is overlong but it's fast moving and for that reason isn't boring but it's entertaining . The picture grossed at box office , it had a total public of 2.4 million paying viewers while playing in theaters in Brazil , in addition to the estimated 11 million who watched the bootleg copies and got a final version slightly different from the pirated one. In fact , this film was already a best-seller almost three months before its official release . Illegal copies of what the director called the "3rd cut" flooded the streets of all major capitals in Brazil, for the equivalent of five dollars a piece . The characters are based on actual people , as Andre Matias was a member of BOPE and was a honest man who finds himself torn between his life as a BOPE member and his life long dreams of being a lawyer . Exciting as well as moving musical score . Composer Pedro Bromfman is the man behind Padilha's critically acclaimed sensation "Elite Squad" and the smash hit sequel and he's re-teamed with the filmmaker for "RoboCop" .

Direction by Jose Padilha is awesome , stylish , and overuse Steadycam ; this award-winning Brazilian filmmaker directed this ¨Elite Squad¨ and sequel , the smash hit followup , ¨Elite Squad: The Enemy Within¨ both of them have been monster hits in his native Brazil and beyond . Director José Padilha claimed that this movie ends his trilogy about urban violence in major Brazilian cities . The first one, Ônibus 174 (2002), was a documentary meant to explain how the state's indifference towards poor people can lead to the formation of violent criminals . The second, Elite Squad (2007), meant to explain how the state's indifference towards law enforcement agencies will often result in police brutality and corrupt officers . And finally, the last movie deals with the reasons behind the state's choice to ignore the poor and the police . These movies were Brazil's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards . These films had a lot of box office , about 11.1 million paying viewers made it the most seen movie in Brazilian cinema history . It also became the highest-grossing film of all time in Brazil, beating Avatar . The first feature film in English for this director resulted to be RoboCop , making his Hollywood debut , and inventively breaks down ,reconfigures and soups up the core half-man, half-machine cop-hero conceit.

Unelite and Unwatchable

[kenjha · 1/10 · 7 August 2011]

An elite police squad tackles drug gangs in Rio De Janeiro by shooting first and asking questions later. Making his first non-documentary feature, Padilha appears to be in over his head. He comes from the shaky camera school of directing, a school that should lose its accreditation. To simulate urgency, the hand-held camera is continually moving and there is rapid cutting. Instead of urgency or excitement, it creates confusion and nausea. Although a couple of the writers worked on the excellent "City of God," the script for this one is atrocious. Given the bad script, ugly characters, poor acting, and terrible direction, this is basically unwatchable.

...Brilliantly fleshed out characters lifts the film from being trite after the 1000th gunshot.

[crey014 · 9/10 · 24 July 2008]

Kinetically filmed, "Tropa de Elite" reaches the dizzying heights of Fernando Meirelles' "Cidade de Deus", as not so much as a photocopy but more as a cinematic twin brother. Film focuses on the brutal, abet necessary foundations of Tropa de Elite, a one hundred strong company of men who swings into action when normal police gets held up themselves. Intense amount of corruption and violence is present here, however brilliantly fleshed out characters lifts the film from being trite after the 1000th gunshot.

The film being presented in two parts, we are indulged into an extended prologue to get acquainted with the protagonists: Captain Nascimento, feeling the stress as a 0-1, is on the lookout for a substitute between André Matias, a law student cum policeman struggling with his own identity and Neto, the ideal candidate as his replacement who's violent and relentless to a fault. Accompanied by a sometimes distracting voice over, the audience is given proper time to find themselves immersed in the narrative and characters. Even if the film's screenplay explodes every second of its almost 2-hour running time, personality development is not left on the back seat, to much relief.

Andre Ramiro's performance as André Matias is pitch perfect. Practically the film's moral backbone, he elucidates the distinction between pretending to know and knowing. The best scenes in the picture not involves scenes of brazen violent explosions but his rationalizing and character driven moments. The film uses his character to deter the judgmental audience from pretending to know but reminds them they know nothing.

Padilha is in control of the film until its very last shot; able to summon his own elite squad of cinematographers and sound technicians. The production values are top notch indeed, as the cinema also explodes with every bang and boom. Filmed in cinema verite, it gathers up inspiration from previous war-themed films – from the tones and hues of the mentioned "Cidade de Deus" to Alfonso Cuaron's blood splatter on the screen technique from "Children of Men". With the sound and images pushing the audience to its nauseating edge, full immersion is delivered without breaking a sweat.

Comparison to "Cidade de Deus" should be complementary, as "Elite" tackles the impotent depiction of policemen by the former. In fact, it acts as its contemporary, acting as if it exists on the same universe. It demands merit in its own right though, as the film is well staged like its depiction of training the elite, making it an involving exercise, not seen since Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket".

Immersive, hypnotic and engaging, "Tropa de Elite" guarantees Padilha to be noticed on a more mainstream circuit. Previously delivering "Onibus 174", also tackling the same themes of nurture and consequence as a catalyst to violence, he is able to comment on sensitive themes without being too preachy and also able to wrap it in a well produced package. Film is definitely an above average fare and is essential to be experienced on the big screen, just for its sound design alone.

City of God becomes Kid's Story after this movie...

[stickdeath · 10/10 · 20 August 2007]

If you have enjoyed City of God or felt like something was missing on it, then this is the movie you need to see. Everything here is placed respecting the reality... Scenes are very realistic and all action makes you feel like be in part of it. It shows how policemen are involved with criminals and how many policemen are not involved at all and get blamed by society due to some bad fruits. It shows how family can get affected how two guys with same purpose can get trapped in two different situations.. And shows how a man can be changed by the environment that simply leads him to do what he must. That's how we do a great movie without wasting millions of $$$. Perfect movie, dramatic, sensitive and intelligent.