Elite Squad – Review

The year is 1997 and the location is Rio de Janeiro. As a street scene full of people dance away to thunderous DJ beats, the narrator explains that there are over 700 city slums and most are ruled by drug dealers and gangsters packing serious weaponry. HKs, Uzis, AR-15s, you name it. Cops go into these areas to enforce the laws, but it’s tough when the criminals’ guns cut through cars like paper.

This leads to cops with families looking for payoffs instead of shootouts. Peace depends on a delicate balance of dealers’ ammo and cops’ corruption. Honest isn’t part of the game, and a good cop in the slums usually leads to bad scenarios. There are no good choices for decent men.

As an SUV loaded with cops led by Captain Fábio Barbosa hits up the DJ scene, another pair of officers, Neto Gouveia and André Matias, use a long-range rifle to accidentally set off an all-out gun battle with the many surrounding dealers, of which no one is trained for.

This leads to BOPE (Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais, or Battalion of Special Police Operations) getting a call, which is Rio’s elite squad of law enforcement. They rock a dangerous skull symbol on their uniforms and vehicles to show that they mean business, and are only called in when cops can’t handle it, which is still virtually daily. The Alpha Team leader is Captain Roberto Nascimento, and this is his story.

Nascimento has equal disdain for dealers and dirty cops. BOPE has only 100 men however, unlike the 30,000 strong police force. Policing the cops makes for a tough task. Unfortunately, Nascimento’s home life is also getting complicated as he has a kid on the way.

Now he balances work and his pregnant wife, deciding to look for a successor to his Alpha Team Captain role. This coincides with preparing to clear favelas for the incoming Pope John Paul II visit which is expected soon. Will any of his new BOPE officers show enough promise to be a strong leader, or even survive the rugged training? Can the scene of the Pope’s visit be cleared of danger in time? Who said life was easy.

Based on a book, Elite Squad is an in-your-face look at the dark realities of Rio de Janeiro. It is unlikely to inspire tourism desires from its viewers. That being said, it features a good story, has interesting characters with strong actors, and includes heaps of action.