André Ramiro, Caio Janqueira, Fernando Machado

Two childhood friends decide to enlist in Rio de Janeiro's Military Police Department. After juggling their police jobs and college, both make up their minds to try out for a Special Operations Squad ...( read more  read more... )whose mission is to take down the drug-lords that plague the city. Both men struggle to survive, facing the daily challenges of dealing with pressure at home and fighting an unnamed war on the streets.

Flixster Users

88% liked it

9,642 ratings

Critics

53% liked it

34 critics

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: José Padilha

Release Date: August 17, 2007

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DVD Release Date: October 28, 2008

Stats: 1,184 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,184)


  • October 16, 2009
    A very good film, although I had hoped for something a little bit more after the trailer. It's more of an action/drama dealing with the drug trade in the slums of Rio in Brazil. It has a good story and is well made and shot with a fair share of brutal, violent action scenes. Almo...( read more)st feels like a documentary at times it has that raw feel about it. From the same director as the City of God.
  • October 6, 2009
    Excellent movie. Great acting and story. A movie about Brazils BOPE and the favela in Rio. The harsh reality is that this could almost be a documentary of everyday life there.
  • May 12, 2009
    "On the streets of Rio only the elite survive."

    1997, Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his occupation while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope comes to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    ...( read more)REVIEW
    Rumor has it that until this film Brazilian cinema tended to portray criminals as endearing types cleverer than police. "Elite Squad" pulls no punches: Cops can be as corrupt as criminals. Such candor has seldom been seen since "Serpico" in long gone 1974. Sadly, profit-seeking films increasingly replace human beings with cost-cutting special effects in tune with our age of technological brainwashing. At least in "Elite Squad" human beings still feel human, however unpleasant they might be. The central figure is Captain Nascimento who has no qualms about torturing or killing criminals and corrupt cops are especially not safe from him. He sees himself as the ideal leader but he is disintegrating under stress and has a glorified vision of his powers which he cannot quite reproduce with his wife at home. Human rights groups will have a field day listing all the violations - but survival is crucial in the nether world, be it Rio or any other place on the planet. Despite its violence and amorality this film has highly effective moments of comic relief. I would like to praise the excellent direction by José Padilha and the generally superb acting, with special plaudits for Wagner Moura, Caio Junqueira and Andre Ramiro in the central roles.
  • March 15, 2009
    Punchy urban drama set in the favelas of Rio analysing the desperate struggle to survive on all sides of the law. Poverty is the driving force for most immorality but the rich 'playboys' fare little better. Uneasy but thought provoking viewing.
  • January 30, 2009
    Alittle disappointed with this one, I thought it would be much more violent and have tons of action as that's what the trailer and look of the DVD cover kinda impresses on you. I also watched it cos its made by the same man who made 'City of God' which is a fearsome flick.

    Its v...( read more)ery harsh and gritty looking, the slums of Brazil look menacing and tense, a lethal concrete jungle of crackheads and trigger happy cops where life is more than cheap. The cast are all excellent and the action scenes are all top notch and sweat inducing, problem is there just isn't quite enough of that. You tend to get abit bored and start to yearn for some brutal gangland gun battles (maybe with gangs of gun totting scroats hehe). I know that sounds bad but its just what you expect after 'City of God'. The scenes that do involve the 'elite squad' almost look like sequences from the Rainbow 6 Xbox games :) they are all in black and move in their tactical patterns taking out one perp after another, very cool but not enough of it.

    Anyway it looks great, you can almost smell the alley odours and taste the drugs being abused, just not as good as COG.
  • November 17, 2009
    Good movie...would really like to see much more subtitled Brazilian movies based on life in the favella, released.
  • November 14, 2009
    a look at a special unit, patroling the notorious slums in rio de janeiro, more a special forces unit than policeforce, and we see two men joining up,from there jobs on the police force, as the coruption grows around everyone, this unit is not dirty. a entertaining film throughou...( read more)t, showing the coruption of this part of the world well, and poverty and criminals doing there thing, some exellent moments as we see coruption in action, and also the teams anguish at politics and on the job moments, some good acting from all concerned,and some nice touches in the direction
  • October 24, 2009
    Pega um pega geral ! nota 10...vejo sempre
  • October 16, 2009
    Recommended by Deano78.
  • September 5, 2009
    Tá, cansa ver filme brasileiro só falando sobre isso, mas Tropa de Elite é bom.

Critic Reviews


September 15, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

It bears a resemblance to viscerally exciting seventies urban thrillers like The French Connection, in which only the fascists could do what needed to be done. full review

September 2, 2008
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Padilha succumbs to monotonous, hollow flamboyance with his City of God clone. full review

August 8, 2008
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

Padilha's style, honed in his hijack documentary Bus 174, is verismo with a vengeance. For two hours the viewer feels as hand-held as the camera, hauled about by the neck. full review

View more Tropa de Elite (The Elite Squad) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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