The blistering thriller “Elite Squad: The Enemy Within’’ was a blockbuster at the Brazilian box office, outgrossing even “Avatar,’’ but it won’t thrill tourism officials in Rio de Janeiro, site of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Jose Padilha’s film paints the city’s sprawling slums as a place where the police and politicians are just as crooked and ruthless as drug dealers.
The film opens with a bloodbath, as police put down a riot at Rio’s toughest prison, and never lets up. Nobody is to be trusted as blood flows and bodies pile up. The pièce de résistance is a daring nighttime ambush that’s as good as anything Hollywood has to offer. A crackling musical score and eye-popping cinematography add to the nonstop ferocity, and Wagner Moura is charismatic as the head of the titular police unit. He brings drug dealers to their knees, only to realize that he’s made it easier for rogue cops and pols to enrich themselves.
No wonder Padilha’s been tapped to helm a Hollywood reboot of “RoboCop.’’