Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
Stephen Holden, New York Times: The carnage, although explicit and frequent, is not grotesquely overdone. Read more
Sam Adams, Time Out: Our hero's prominence sets up a stellar conclusion that retroactively questions both the first movie and its substantial audience. Read more
Alison Willmore, AV Club: Moving to its own throbbing beat, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within offers an exhilaratingly bleak vision of what it describes as "an articulation of loathsome interests," in which the well-meaning suffer... Read more
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Jammed with cliches but completely engrossing. Read more
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: The pace is quick, the violence is rough, and the visual style is documentary as Padilha hammers home his point: Someone is forever in the pocket of someone else as The System constantly adapts to protect itself. Read more
William Goss, Film.com: Throttles forward with remarkable aplomb and easily leaves the original in the dust. Read more
Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: A fast-paced, hard-hitting Brazilian police thriller. Read more
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: It resembles a flow chart splattered with blood and spittle, more static and smeary in tone than the finger-pointing corrective director-cowriter Jose Padilha intended. Read more
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: There is a deep sense of indignation at the core of The Enemy Within, a righteous fury that pelts every cog of "the system" like machine-gun fire. Read more
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Padilha's style is so urgent and immediate that you almost feel like you're in the midst of an especially advanced video game. Read more
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: No wonder Padilha's been tapped to helm a Hollywood reboot of "RoboCop.'' Read more
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Here's a Brazilian thriller that's so angry and specifically political, it's hard to believe they got away with making it. Read more
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Elite Squad is just urgent and complex enough to make it clear violence is more than a matter for academic debate. Read more
Robert Koehler, Variety: When this Enemy Within settles into key action sequences, such as a stunning nighttime ambush or a daytime battle against Fabio, it becomes wildly entertaining. Read more
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice: Its conviction makes it tough to dismiss. Read more