Review of Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (2010) by Jonathan B — 28 Nov 2011

The highest grossing film in the history of Brazil finally hits the U.S., which I have been highly anticipating since it got rave reviews at Sundance. I was a fan of Elite Squad, but its sequel is an entirely different, and stronger, beast.

It's certainly more ambitious, focusing less on shootouts and the favelas and more on the behind-the-scenes politics and ideologies. In doing so, it addresses some of the fascist accusations leveled against its predecessor, which I thought was a wily touch.

I doubt this portrayal will quiet the naysayers, though, as nearly everyone in the government is presented as corrupt to the core, but it offers up some good food for thought and how anything can get twisted for bad use or reelections.

The film is also set many years after the first one, with hardly any characters returning, but Nascimento remains front and center. Wagner Moura turns in a deeper performance the second go around, and even Jose Padilha seems more confident in the director's chair.

I still cannot wait until he takes Hollywood by storm. While it's far from the format of a traditional blockbuster, and will barely make a dent here in America, I find it encouraging and heartening to know something of this nature can actually smash records somewhere.