It might have been 15 years since José Padilha’s Elite Squad was released to just as much fanfare as controversy, but the brutal crime thriller is every bit as relevant now as it was back then.
Suffice to say, the story of Brazil’s BOPE (Special Police Operation Battalion) fighting to eliminate and eradicate drug dealers from the favelas of Rio de Janiero before the visit of the Pope stoked the flames of criticism when it first landed in theaters, with many local and international critics blasting the glorification of violence on display, as well as alleged undertones that were interpreted by some as being fascist in nature.
As the old saying goes, though, controversy always has a way of creating cash. In the case of Elite Squad, it became one of the biggest hits in the history of Brazilian cinema, so much so that sequel The Enemy Within arrived three years later to fare even better at the box office. Overall, a 51 percent Rotten Tomatoes score isn’t much to write home about, but the fast-paced flick has nonetheless conspired to empty a clip into the streaming charts this week.
Per FlixPatrol, the breakout international role for future Narcos star Wagner Moura has snaffled a Top 10 spot in multiple countries around the world on the Prime Video rankings, proving that a little bit of headline-grabbing sensationalism never goes amiss when it comes to engaging a brand new audience.
You don’t have to agree with its politics, but based on Elite Squad‘s Rotten Tomatoes user rating of 87 percent from over 10,000 votes, audiences have been left enthralled.
Published: Sep 8, 2022 12:16 pm