Elite Squad: The Enemy Within review

 Number 206 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Brazilian crime-drama 'Elite Squad: the Enemy Within.'

Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Nascimento (Wagner Mourra) is in charge of quelling a riot at the notorious Bangu prison. However, when his efforts to regain control end in disaster. The rioters die, and he is at risk of losing his job. But when the state secretary of Rio De Janeiro realises that Nascimento has become a folk-hero to the public, he instead promotes him to become a high-ranking intelligence officer. But there Nascimento quickly discovers the true corruption of the justice system.

Elite Squad was penned by Braulio Mantovani who also wrote City of God. And the similarities are apparent from the stark, gritty depiction of violence to the engrossing narration to a shared cast: Seu Jorge appeared as the prison-gang leader here and as Knockout Ned in City of God. In this sense, Elite Squad is just as good as City of God, and many of my readers know this is one of my favourite films ever.

Elite Squad has also been compared with HBO's hit TV series 'The Wire.' The comparison is easy to see. Whereas the first Elite Squad focussed on drug dealers and the gangs themselves, its sequel instead concentrated on the corrupt justice system that governs over these gangs. Or rather how it's supposed to govern over these gangs, but instead feeds the self-serving, corrupt politicians. It peels back another layer of an inherently flawed system.

The characters are great with returning favourites from its predecessor like Nascimento's former protege Mathias and the morally corrupt Fabio, but also morally-depraved officers like Major Rocha who soon forms a militia extorting the residents of the Favela. He was a truly despicable character, but, sadly, there are many power-hungry men like this in the world.

However, this film wasn't quite as cohesive as its predecessor. There is a four-year time jump that is quite disjointed - in this time, it is implied that Nascimento has divorced from his wife who has gone onto marry the liberal, human-rights activist and legislator Varga. This relationship was rushed and could have used more grounding.

My second criticism, which also applied to its predecessor, was that Mourra was criminally under-used. Sure, he narrates the film with his trade-mark charisma, but he doesn't appear on screen enough. This is only diluted by how he has been removed from the front lines and relegated to an office. The film seemed more interested on focussing on Varga and the corrupt officials governing Rio. Sadly, and this was of no fault of Mourra, but Nascimento largely faded into the background, when he should have been the star.

That notwithstanding, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within was still a terrific if uncomfortable watch.

Elite Squad review

 Number 256 on the top 1000 films of all time is Jose Padilha's Brazillian crime drama 'Elite Squad.'

Captain Nascimento (Wagner Moura) is a police officer in BOPE - an elite squad of police who patrol Rio De Janerio's drug-fuelled favelas. Burned out and with a baby on the way, he is searching for a replacement. And his two best choices are the impulsive Neto (Caio Junqueira) or the more measured and restrained Matias (Andre Ramio.)

Elite Squad reminded me of the fantastic City of God. Both stylistically and content-wise, the two films were very similar. Whereas City of God focussed on the drug dealers that ruled the ghetto, Elite Squad focused on the police who have to catch them. It presented a raw, gritty and unflinching look at a brutal reality. The camera work was intimate with plenty of close-ups that make you feel you're right alongside the characters. No punches are pulled. Nothing is romanticised. We see the ruthlessness of the drug gangs as well as the police who catch them. it is an intense non-stop rollercoaster.

However, I would criticise Elite Squad for its portrayal of Captain Nascimento. Despite being the main character, he felt like a secondary character. Although he narrates, he has very little on-screen presence in the film's first half. This was because he was always intended to be a secondary character with Neto and Matias acting as the protagonists. During post-production, Jose Padilha's realised Wagner Moura's on-screen charisma and edited the film to make him the main character.

This was a major oversight and it showed. His retrospective editing did nothing to help things. Wagner Moura's considerable acting ability largely went to waste. Don't forget this is the man who went onto star as Pablo Escobar in Netflix's series Narcos.

Despite Wagner Moura being completely squandered, Elite Squad was still a great film if a tough watch at times.