Brazil's Highest Grossing Film Is A Morality Play That Works As An Unrelenting Crime Saga
On my short list of must-see film titles for 2011, Jose Padilha's "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" was certainly at the top of the roster. I first became aware of Padilha with the 2002 documentary feature "Bus 174," an unforgettable true life story of a bus hijacking that played out very publicly in the Brazilian media. It was a harrowing picture that had as much to say about contemporary journalism, rampant crime, local corruption, political maneuvering, and the state of the police as it did about the actual event it portrayed. I think that it is fair to say that some of these same themes have remained a constant in all of the writer/director's future film endeavors as well. That said, I do want to point out that "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" is actually a sequel to the 2007 project entitled (you guessed it) "Elite Squad." While the two films are certainly better served as companion pieces, this does have a self contained story that can be enjoyed on its own merits. If you choose to...
Intelligent, and gritty.....excellent film!
Only my second review on here IIrc, but this film was worthy I thought of a 5 star review. I took the chance on this rental based on the previous reviewer's high marks, and great overall review, and this film certainly was worth the time and money.
Very intelligent plot, lots of gritty action scenes, and awesome realistic gun play.
This film feels incredibly authentic for a fictional movie.
Delightfully brutal
I wasn't even aware there was an original Elite Squad until after I had heard about and had access to Elite Squad: The Enemy Within. The Enemy Within has been receiving rave reviews from pretty much everyone who has seen it. This is the type of movie that sucker punches you in the gut and you never see it coming, but all you can do is smile because that rush is unlike anything else you've ever experienced. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within makes full use of the term, "thriller" before turning it upside down and inside out and doing it all over again in a two hour time period.
Some rather interesting camera work is utilized throughout the film. You take notice of it in the very first scene as the camera catches every crack and break in a pane of glass as a car is riddled with bullets. Slow motion is also used in a refreshing kind of way mostly because slow motion has looked the same way since 2006 when Leonidas kicked the messenger into the pit in 300. While this was probably...
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