Very disappointing...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Absolutely Brilliant!

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

(Flash Review)This is a fairly typical film about power and corruption done properly and honestly in Rio de Janeiro. The head of the police force (I think) has to deal with a corrupt special unit who is pushing out and murdering drug gangs in order to profit from the citizens in many ways. Anyone to cross their path, bad or good better watch out. Once the protagonist learns what is happening he attempts to zero in and eradicate the immoral corruptors. Will he be successful or will he be another casualty in their bloodbath? The film is gritty and has many characters to sort out. This being a foreign film, I felt I was constantly reading subtitles and wasn't able to watch enough of the action as even when the characters weren't talking there was narration. Not a problem, just the way it is. Good acting, editing, pacing and it was good dialog so I was engaged throughout. Solid and bloody.

Exciting and thrilling picture dealing with former-Captain Nascimento , now a Brazil high authority . After a prison riot, today Nascimento (Wagner Moura , this character was based on screenwriter Rodrigo Pimentel) is a high ranking security officer in Rio De Janeiro , he is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials , politicians and paramilitary groups . Excellent and nail-beating film based on real events , in fact , the role of Diogo Fraga (Irandhir Santos) is based on the real life Rio de Janeiro State Representative Marcelo Freixo . Nowadays , high commander Nascimento has to find out a lot of problems while trying to take down inmates from a prison riot , drug dealers , criminals and a corrupt police called Rocha who commands a dangerous militia . On the streets of Rio only the elite survive . The movie also deals about BOPE , a Special Operations Squad similar to American SWAT and their fight against factions in Favelas Rio Janeiro . Meanwhile , Matias (Andre Ramiro , this role was based on screenwriter André Batista , former members of the BOPE squad) is moved to the corrupted Military Police .This stirring film has breathless , brutal scenes , a gut punch of an action film . It concerns on an upright man , his fight against policy corruption , taking on the daily challenges of dealing with pressure at home and fighting an unnamed war on Rio Janeiro slums . Interesting and brooding screenplay from the Academy Award nominated writer of City of God . Many critics have considered as a tremendous movie , on the level of some of the Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola pictures . A must see, a cross between the Departed , The Wire and City of God . It's a thought-provoking and clever studio of a few decent people , an Elite Squad , about police corruption , and unflinching remark at the underbelly of Rio Janeiro , plenty of drug-lords , burglars and assassins . Runtime film is overlong but it's fast moving and for that reason isn't boring but it's entertaining . The picture grossed at box office , it had a total public of 2.4 million paying viewers while playing in theaters in Brazil , in addition to the estimated 11 million who watched the bootleg copies and got a final version slightly different from the pirated one . It made the most seen movie in Brazilian cinema history. It also became the highest-grossing film of all time in Brazil, beating Avatar (2009)'s record . In fact , this film was already a best-seller almost three months before its official release . Illegal copies of what the director called the "3rd cut" flooded the streets of all major capitals in Brazil, for the equivalent of five dollars a piece . The characters are based on actual people , as Andre Matias was a member of BOPE and was a honest man who finds himself torn between his life as a BOPE member and his life long dreams of being a lawyer . Exciting as well as moving musical score . Composer Pedro Bromfman is the man behind Padilha's critically acclaimed sensation "Elite Squad" and the smash hit sequel and he's re-teamed with the filmmaker for "RoboCop" .Direction by Jose Padilha is awesome , stylish , and overuse Steadycam ; this is an award-winning Brazilian picture ; it was Brazil's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 84th Academy Awards 2012 . Filmmaker Jose directed first ¨Elite Squad¨ about a Special Police Battalion , called BOPE , an unit of urban combat attempting to take down drug dealers and killers in Rio De Janeiro before the Pope comes to Rio , and this sequel , the smash hit followup , ¨Elite Squad: The Enemy Within¨ both of them have been monster hits in his native Brazil and beyond . Director José Padilha claimed that this movie ends his trilogy about urban violence in major Brazilian cities . The first one, Ônibus 174 (2002), was a documentary meant to explain how the state's indifference towards poor people can lead to the formation of violent criminals . The second, Elite Squad (2007), meant to explain how the state's indifference towards law enforcement agencies will often result in police brutality and corrupt officers . And finally, the last movie deals with the reasons behind the state's choice to ignore the poor and the police . These films had a lot of box office , about 11.1 million paying viewers made it the most seen movies in Brazilian cinema history . The first feature film in English for this director resulted to be RoboCop , making his Hollywood debut , and inventively breaks down ,reconfigures and soups up the core half-man, half-machine cop-hero conceit.

There are a handful of movies that provoke the same emotional reaction so consistently as this one. I have watched it over at least 5 times. The movie is very intense in that all the scenes are very well- connected and well balanced between narration and action. There is much less action and violence than the first one, but it is compensated by the well written script, which keeps audience on the edge of the seat as the whole storyline unfolds.I felt like I have grown with the protagonist from the first movie. As his fight has gone from tactical to strategical, the perspective of the movie has graduated to higher, more holistic level. Though fictional, the movie tells a story that many different countries share- a society hijacked by systematic corruption, social inequality, and gang violence. As credit rolls, I found myself sitting in silence pondering my role in this ecology, how we have come to this, and more importantly, how we can extricate ourselves from this situation. I believe this is precisely what the director wanted us to think.The acting and soundtracks are up to the standards in my opinion, and the action scenes are much closer to reality than most Hollywood movies. Unfortunately, no movie is perfect; in my opinion, the characters are not very well developed. It is a movie dedicated to a political message, and I respect the decision of the director to make it so. However, that means lengthy narration outlining the structure of the corrupted system took priority over develop connection between the audience and the characters. I personally would prefer using more acting, interactions, and development of the plot itself as oppose to plain verbal narration.Nonetheless, it is a great movie and I would definitely recommend it to those who are interested in political and social topics.

José Padilha's "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" explores the deep-seated corruption riddling Rio de Janeiro through a visceral, powerful Brazilian drama. Building on the success of 2007's "Elite Squad," Lt. Colonel Nascimento is back to take the fight to the drug cartels as well as the corruption within Rio's law enforcement and political system, exposing the true depths of the city's social problems. Breathless, brutal, and thrilling. It's a gut punch of an action movie with political undertones.Police Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Nascimento (Wagner Moura) has devoted his entire life to taking down Rio de Janeiro's most notorious criminals. He leads a special ops group (NOPE) known for its uncompromising effectiveness, but his efforts haven't received a lot of support from the corrupt authorities. When Nascimento's attempts to defuse a prison riot, it turns into a blood bath, and the media creates a public frenzy. The government is eager to use the incident as an excuse to fire Nascimento, but the level of public support for the Colonel's actions is overwhelmingly positive. As such, Nascimento is promoted to a high-ranking security position. Initially, it seems that this new power will grant him the ability to fight crime even more effectively. Alas, it doesn't take long before he realizes that the corruption runs even deeper than he could have suspected. The system has no center, Nascimento tells us, and it always wins.The corruption of the Brazilian political system serves as a backdrop to the unrestrained violence and tension that permeates throughout the film. The action sequences are swift, violent, and sharply crafted. "The Enemy Within" presents the question -- which is worse: the amoral politicians who run the city, or the violent cartels who oversee the slums? Padilha's film offers no easy answers, but the title is a tip-off as to where at least his sympathies lie.The film, with its slick production and on-point narration by Moura as Nascimento is an edgy, action-drenched thriller dipped in blood and dirty politics. Still, even during its slickest Hollywood-style action sequences, it's hard to ignore the unyielding, socially conscious anger which fuels the movie. While "The Enemy Within" is not as punchy as its trigger-happy predecessor "Elite Squad," is an intriguing slice of drama with the advantage of a much more balanced standpoint. Previous crime dramas such as "City of God" (2002), "Carandiru" (2003) and Padhila's own 2002 debut "Bus 174" have helped make Brazilian cinema an international critically acclaimed medium. Thankfully, "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" successfully continues with this trajectory.