Elite Squad 2

Well, I watched Elite Squad 2 hot on the heels of Elite Squad 1. And like Hammer of Doom, I think I preferred the second installment.

This movie answered some of my criticisms of the first one. Namely, it created a much deeper connection between the viewer and the characters. You cared more, and as such you were affected when shitty things happened to good people. But stoked when shitty things happened to shitty people.

However, the story line for this one was considerably more political, and so inevitably a bit more boring. Let's be honest. Fuck politics. But obviously it was more shocking! Cuz what's more fucked up, corrupt and brutal than politics? The irony is that the drug dealers you detest in the first movie look like choir boys compared to "the enemy within" the governmental walls of Elite Squad 2. You sympathize with the drug dealers simply by virtue of detesting the corrupt government. Brazil is rotten from the inside out. It's a scary ass place.

I found the Directing, Editing and Photography pretty similar to the first one. There wasn't much of a departure in overall aesthetic. If anything, they got a bit slicker in the second movie, but not in a bad way. Just a bit more mature in the visual presentation.

If you're gonna watch one, you should watch both. Do it up, ladies and gentlemen.


(Simply including this video for Nas's reference to "grindin', hittin' Brazilian dimes from behind." You already posted video links to both films in your review, so why not...We run a classy joint.)

Good to see Seu Jorge in the film, too. Dig his music.