The moral dilemmas are gripping, but the film takes itself far too seriously to ever connect with us.
Comment
08/08/08
Elite Squad (2008)
53
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:18
Rotten:16
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Brutal, action heavy, Brazilian cop film with a pointless voiceover. Lacks flair, overdoes the violence and is never quite sure where its morals lie.
Theatrical Release:08-08-2008
Synopsis: One of the most notorious releases in the history of Brazilian cinema, Jose Padilha's ELITE SQUAD exposes the rampant corruption plaguing Rio de Janeiro from a policeman's point of view. The only... [More]
Starring: Wagner Moura, André Ramiro, Caio Junqueira, Milhem Cortaz
Director: José Padilha
Reviews for Elite Squad
A film that simply doesn’t have enough cinematic flair to make it a better than average cops and robbers thriller.
08/08/08
Padilha gets as close to the daily violence as City of God, though this feels more like a documentary than an epic.
08/08/08
Padilha’s style, honed in his hijack documentary Bus 174, is verismo with a vengeance. For two hours the viewer feels as hand-held as the camera, hauled about by the neck.
08/08/08
As for the plot, flashy editing and an over-reliance on jittery handheld cameras mean you’ll struggle to tell what’s going on – if you haven’t already given up by then.
08/08/08
Nothing is clear-cut in this intense brew of brutality, stupidity and genuine tragedy. We’re left lamenting that it will go on, unless Brazil engages its brain before its fist.
08/08/08
It's a bit like a Latin American episode of The Bill written by Richard Littlejohn and directed by Chuck Norris.
08/08/08
It's just a pity the story is so slipshod - it only really gets going halfway through.
08/08/08
Top CriticHere is the biggest, fattest, dampest squib of the week: perhaps the most disappointing film ever to have won the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival.
08/08/08
Top CriticNascimento’s penchant for Rambo theatrics is unfortunate, because elsewhere Elite Squad has interesting things to say.
08/08/08
Top CriticAn action-drama that's fascinating for its insights into Rio's social structures. But while it's compellingly intense, it's also morally muddled.
08/08/08
Top CriticIt is impressively made, but leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
08/08/08
Top CriticDespite the voiceover, Padilha has created a shocking insight into a world in which corrupt cops slug it out against drug dealers but, ultimately, nobody wins.
08/08/08
Top CriticA satisfactory enough cop movie, but not one that people will still be name checking years hence
01/13/09
Given that Brazil, as a Latin American moviemaking powerhouse, steadily produces vibrant, vital films of real impact and humanity, it's a crime itself that Elite Squad may be the only Brazilian film that American audiences see this year.
09/25/08
A depressing film that celebrates brute strength as the only means to stem the tide of violence and crime in Rio de Janeiro.
09/20/08
For nearly two hours, Padilha bombards viewers with senseless, sickening violence for its own sake.
09/19/08
With no star names and a tough subject, it will be hard sell despite being a runaway hit on its home turf.
09/19/08
Elite Squad is a relentlessly ugly, unpleasant, often incoherent assault on the senses from Brazil.
09/19/08
Top CriticA poor man's City of God that suggests the only answer to the problems of Brazil's slums are blazing guns wielded by a neo-fascist police force.
09/19/08
Latest News for Elite Squad
January 28, 2009:
Uni Chooses Jose Padilha for The Sigma Protocol 
Universal's deal with the Ludlum estate has started to bear fruit in the form of a film adaptation of "The Sigma Protocol," which Jose Padilha is in talks to direct. More...
September 21, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
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September 18, 2008:
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July 01, 2008:
Edinburgh 2008: What to Watch
We share twenty of the best films screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, currently running in the Scottish city. More...
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