Elite Squad

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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!