| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Wagner Moura | ... | Capitão Nascimento | |
| André Ramiro | ... | Aspirante Matias | |
| Caio Junqueira | ... | Neto | |
| Milhem Cortaz | ... | Capitão Fábio | |
| Fernanda Machado | ... | Maria | |
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Maria Ribeiro | ... | Rosane |
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Paulo Vilela | ... | Edu |
| Fernanda de Freitas | ... | Roberta | |
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André Di Mauro | ... | Rodrigues (as André Mauro) |
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Fábio Lago | ... | Claudio Mendes de Lima 'Baiano' |
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Erick Oliveira | ... | Marcinho (as Erick Maximiano Oliveira) |
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Patrick Santos | ... | Tinho |
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Rafael d'Avila | ... | Xuxa |
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Roberta Santiago | ... | Rose |
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Emerson Gomes | ... | Xaveco |
In 1997, before the visit of the pope to Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento from BOPE (Special Police Operation Battalion) is assigned to eliminate the risks of the drug dealers in a dangerous slum nearby where the pope intends to be lodged. Captain Nascimento is trying to find a man to replace him because his wife is pregnant and he intends to quit the command and become a trainer of the new recruits. Meanwhile, the two idealistic friends Neto and Matias join the Military Police force expecting to become honest policemen and fight the criminals. However, they see only corruption, lack of competence and stupid bureaucracy in the Military Police, and after a serious incident in the Morro da Babilônia, they decide to join the BOPE. The lives of Capitain Nascimento, Neto and Matias are entwined along the next months, first in the tough training period and then in action against drug dealers. Nascimento believes that Neto could be his substitute, but his impulsive attitudes jeopardizes ... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
"City of God" was just a perfect movie. "Elite Squad" goes beyond that; it's a WTF movie.
Brutal realism, terrific acting (Wagner Moura... wow), brilliant script and plot, precise edition, unforgettable quotes... This movie is just insanely good.
If you live in a developed country you'll probably think this is just another thriller. For anyone living in a 3rd country it's way more than that: it's a brutal picture of our degradation and corruption, a revelation that runs over you like a truck.
The most striking aspect about the movie is how clearly it shows how everyone is at the same time guilty and victim in the whole war against drugs: the do-gooders NGOs, the politicians, the corrupt police and the not-corrupt but truculent "Elite Squad". It shows it precisely but with sense of humor and very smartly. In this war, everyone that proclaim to have moral and values is actually hiding skeletons in the closet. It's all a story of gangsters against gangsters in a degraded society.