Elite Squad (2008)
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
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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 2.5/5 |
The moral dilemmas are gripping, but the film takes itself far too seriously to ever connect with us. Full Review |
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2/5 |
A film that simply doesn’t have enough cinematic flair to make it a better than average cops and robbers thriller. Full Review |
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 3/5 |
Padilha gets as close to the daily violence as City of God, though this feels more like a documentary than an epic. Full Review |
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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. Full Review |
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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. Full Review |
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3/5 |
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. Full Review |
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3/5 |
It's a bit like a Latin American episode of The Bill written by Richard Littlejohn and directed by Chuck Norris. Full Review |
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It's just a pity the story is so slipshod - it only really gets going halfway through. Full Review |
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1/5 |
Here 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. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Nascimento’s penchant for Rambo theatrics is unfortunate, because elsewhere Elite Squad has interesting things to say. Full Review |
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3.5/5 |
An action-drama that's fascinating for its insights into Rio's social structures. But while it's compellingly intense, it's also morally muddled. Full Review |
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2/6 |
It is impressively made, but leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Despite 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. Full Review |
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6/10 |
A satisfactory enough cop movie, but not one that people will still be name checking years hence Full Review |
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D |
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. Full Review |
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1/5 |
A depressing film that celebrates brute strength as the only means to stem the tide of violence and crime in Rio de Janeiro. Full Review |
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1/4 |
For nearly two hours, Padilha bombards viewers with senseless, sickening violence for its own sake. Full Review |
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3/5 |
With no star names and a tough subject, it will be hard sell despite being a runaway hit on its home turf. Full Review |
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.5/5 |
Elite Squad is a relentlessly ugly, unpleasant, often incoherent assault on the senses from Brazil. Full Review |
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A 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. Full Review |
CommentLatest 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
More...
September 18, 2008:
Critics Consensus: Lakeview Terrace Isn't Sturdy; Igor Lacks Brains
This week at the movies, we've got an angry cop (Lakeview Terrace, starring Samuel L. Jackson); a disgruntled hunchback (the CGI Igor with voice work by John Cusack and Molly... More...
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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