Elite Squad: The Enemy Within

The scene with BOPE vs. corrupt politician is balm for the soul. This sequel to the Brazilian kick-ass Elite Squad goes a level higher. It’s less raw, the message is more Hollywood, but Padilha makes accusations with identical verve. The action scenes are prettier (better visuals) and still leave you gobsmacked even though there are less of them than it the first part. Excellent. (02/06/2015)

Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within makes you realize that, for all the complaints about corruption in our country, it’s nothing compared to what’s going on in Brazil. This film dives headfirst into the harsh reality of what’s happening there, and if it were only about corruption, that might actually be the least of their problems. This sequel is an excellent follow-up, shifting the focus from the common people seen in the first movie to the inner workings of the police, politicians, and—of course—the mafia. The action is solid, although the camera work can get a bit dizzying at times. But what really grabbed me were the scenes showing corruption in full swing. It’s jaw-dropping, and you can’t help but watch in disbelief as the film exposes the sheer scale of it. (04/04/2011)

Too little action, too much politics. Although it is still a realistic, well-crafted and well-acted film, it just doesn’t have what it takes. It's not as fun, straightforward, aggressive or catchy as the first part. And it's a shame, because Elite Squad IS a great and a huge surprise. This sequel, however, is rather disappointing. (03/15/2011)

With all due respect to Gomorra (the book) or The Wire, this best depicts the functioning and the structure of all-encompassing corruption which is not longer seen as corruption and is beginning to be the accepted social norm... With part one, many mistook a movie about a fascist police unit for a fascist movie. There is no chance of that with part two, which paradoxically has more in common with Padilha’s documentary Ônibus 174 than with part one. Even though maybe someone will mistake this movie about corruption for a corrupt movie. (02/06/2014)

It’s sad that Padilho's radical critique of the system immediately mixes with fascism and other disliked isms. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is exactly the kind of action movie that we don't see much of in mainstream production - it is fully saying that the system is fucked, it points this out in detail and goes so far that it doesn't end up sweeping it under the rug like a figment of a deranged hero (Law Abiding Citizen), but stands by what it believes in with the full weight of its powerful visual musculature. It's Greengrass-style and even more refined than the first film. The issues are the same: Padilha is a brilliant stylist, but a worse storyteller, so the cadence of dialogue and the influx of information are suffocating, and someone who doesn't speak Portuguese drowns in it. Otherwise, it's a complete film in all aspects that I like for how hard and implacable it is. Rather than fascism, the notion of anarchy sometimes creeped in. As with the first film, I don't have a single problem with this film, if only because what we see is sometimes not fully consistent with what Nacimiento, as the protagonist and narrator, grumbles about in the voiceover. I have no idea to what extent the film resonates with the reality of contemporary Brazil, but I have no illusions that it would only be a radical forgery. We know our Pappenheims. (03/21/2011)