Troupe d'élite : L'ennemi intérieur

Défi ciné 2018 : le Brésil. Encore un film brésilien qui confirme le fait que je ne visiterai jamais le Brésil de mon plein gré. Il suffit de regarder la situation politique de ces dix-quinze dernières années au Brésil. C’est un système corrompu qui résiste à tout et à tout le monde et qu’il est impossible de détruire. La fameuse pieuvre italienne a des proportions gargantuesques au Brésil au vu de la taille du pays et de son nombre d’habitants. (16/04/2018)

Trop peu d'action, trop de politique. C'est toujours un film réaliste, bien réalisé et superbement joué, mais ce n'est plus pareil. Ce n'est pas aussi amusant, direct, agressif et accrocheur que le premier volet. Et c'est dommage, car Troupe d'élite était génial et fut une énorme surprise. Cette suite est plutôt décevante. (15/03/2011)

It’s sad that Padilho's radical critique of the system immediately mixes with fascism and other disliked isms. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is exactly the kind of action movie that we don't see much of in mainstream production - it is fully saying that the system is fucked, it points this out in detail and goes so far that it doesn't end up sweeping it under the rug like a figment of a deranged hero (Law Abiding Citizen), but stands by what it believes in with the full weight of its powerful visual musculature. It's Greengrass-style and even more refined than the first film. The issues are the same: Padilha is a brilliant stylist, but a worse storyteller, so the cadence of dialogue and the influx of information are suffocating, and someone who doesn't speak Portuguese drowns in it. Otherwise, it's a complete film in all aspects that I like for how hard and implacable it is. Rather than fascism, the notion of anarchy sometimes creeped in. As with the first film, I don't have a single problem with this film, if only because what we see is sometimes not fully consistent with what Nacimiento, as the protagonist and narrator, grumbles about in the voiceover. I have no idea to what extent the film resonates with the reality of contemporary Brazil, but I have no illusions that it would only be a radical forgery. We know our Pappenheims. (21/03/2011)

The scene with BOPE vs. corrupt politician is balm for the soul. This sequel to the Brazilian kick-ass Elite Squad goes a level higher. It’s less raw, the message is more Hollywood, but Padilha makes accusations with identical verve. The action scenes are prettier (better visuals) and still leave you gobsmacked even though there are less of them than it the first part. Excellent. (06/02/2015)

With all due respect to Gomorra (the book) or The Wire, this best depicts the functioning and the structure of all-encompassing corruption which is not longer seen as corruption and is beginning to be the accepted social norm... With part one, many mistook a movie about a fascist police unit for a fascist movie. There is no chance of that with part two, which paradoxically has more in common with Padilha’s documentary Ônibus 174 than with part one. Even though maybe someone will mistake this movie about corruption for a corrupt movie. (06/02/2014)