Elite Squad: The Enemy Within Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 2, 2012

Selected to represent Brazil in the Foreign Language Film Category at the 84th Academy Awards, Jose Padilha's "Tropa de Elite 2 - O Inimigo Agora É Outro" a.k.a "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Revolver Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer and a long and very informative making of featurette. In Portuguese, with imposed English subtitles. Region-Free.

Heading up to the favelas

After a serious incident in a state prison somewhere on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimiento (Wagner Moura) is told by his superiors that he must leave BOPE (the elite commandos that routinely raid the favelas where the drug lords hide) because his image has been compromised – at least according to a popular human rights advocate (Irandhir Santos, Besouro) courted by prominent left wing politicians. In the days after the incident, however, Nascimiento’s popularity amongst ordinary Brazilians skyrockets, and the Governor of Rio de Janeiro (Julio Adriao), who is planning to seek reelection, decides to put him in charge with intelligence in the newly formed Secretary of Security. Now having access to confidential information and large financial resources, Nascimiento expands BOPE and then quickly disrupts the drug trade in the city. This creates a serious problem because the drug lords can no longer pay the corrupt cops who have blessed their business.

Soon after, Major Rocha (Sandro Rocha) organizes the corrupt cops and creates a militia group that begins taxing everyone, from street vendors selling lemonade to the cable companies operating in and around the favelas. The drug trade is also normalized, but the only dealers allowed to do business are the ones that share their profits with Major Rocha and his men.

Impressed by the militia’s success in the favelas, the Governor teams up with Major Rocha, who promises to secure his re-election. At the same time, a popular right wing TV host (Andre Mattos) dreaming about a political career also approaches Major Rocha, and later on begins working for the militia. On his show he praises the Governor and the supposedly tough BOPE for restoring order in the city – even though none of the executions in the city are carried out by BOPE - but in reality he endorses the militia and the city’s new and only lord - Major Rocha. When Nascimiento decides to expose the corrupt system, the militia turns against him and BOPE and all hell breaks loose.

In 2007, Brazilian director Jose Padilha’s Elite Squad speculated that the only way to reclaim the city of Rio de Janeiro from the hands of the drug lords was to support a new state order that would have impressed even the late General Pinochet. This prompted Jay Weissberg from Variety to write that Elite Squad “plays like a recruitment film for fascist thugs”.

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within does not bother with speculations. It delivers a crystal clear message that the city of Rio de Janeiro is rotten at its core, that all government institutions there are absolutely useless, and that the corrupt system that controls them is indestructible.

The film is very fast, very intense and brutal. It has been compared to Fernando Meirelles’ City of God, but aside from the chaotic shootouts in the favelas the two films have little in common. The focus of attention here is on the corrupt system and how it constantly mutates, not on the violence it breeds.

Nascimiento once again narrates the film, making sure that the viewer understands who the key players are, why some of them die, and why he does what he does. There are plenty of flashbacks, but his story is extremely easy to follow.

It is difficult to imagine that there could be a third film about Nascimiento because it is difficult to imagine that Padilha could shoot a more nihilistic film. If his beloved Rio de Janeiro truly is the type of city Nascimiento argues it is - indeed, the finale is incredibly grim - then it is hard not to agree with him that it has been lost.

Note: Earlier this year, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within became Latin America's biggest box office hit of all time. The film was also selected to represent Brazil in the Foreign Language Film Category at the 84th Academy Awards.

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jose Padilha's Elite Squad: The Enemy Within arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Revolver Entertainment.

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is the best looking release I've seen from Revolver Entertainment since they entered the high-definition market a few years ago. Detail is excellent, even during the action scenes in the favelas, where hand-held cameras were used to film the gritty shootouts. Elsewhere the panoramic vistas from Rio de Janeiro also look incredibly crisp and clear, especially when there is plenty of daylight. Color reproduction is enormously pleasing as well, with the variety of yellows, greens, blues, and browns consistently looking vibrant and lush but not boosted. When blown through a digital projector, the image also conveys outstanding depth and fluidity (even the nighttime sequences look excellent). Lastly, there are no traces of post production tinkering or serious compression issues to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Portuguese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Portuguese LPCM 2.0. For the record, Revolver Entertainment have provided imposed English subtitles for the main feature (they cannot be turned off).

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very aggressive. During some of the shootouts in the favelas it literally feels as if one is placed right in the middle of the action. The surround channels, in particular, are very effectively used, though this should not be overly surprising as the first film, Elite Squad, also had a number of sequences where the surround channels were used with great precision. There are no balance and sync issues, or serious distortion issues to report in this review. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow, and the English translation is very good.

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Elite Squad: The Enemy Within. In Portuguese, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Making of - in this long and very informative featurette, director José Padilha explains what inspired him to shoot a sequel to Elite Squad and how some of the key action sequences were filmed. Cast and crew members also discuss the important differences between the two films, the production process, etc. In Portuguese, with imposed English subtitles. (57 min, 1080/60i).

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If things in Rio de Janeiro are as bad as Captain Nascimiento argues they are in Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, then this truly is a lost city. Frankly, I wonder now how Brazil will host the FIFA World Cup in 2014, as Rio de Janeiro is one of the cities where games are scheduled to be played. British distributors Revolver Entertainment's presentation of the film is excellent. I also really enjoyed the long documentary offered in the supplemental features section of the Blu-ray disc. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.