Tropa de Elite 2 – o inimigo agora é outro
I loved “Tropa de Elite” and the sequel reminds me of why that is. The story probably had less of an impact and in many ways, despite Matias’s death, it was less tragic. Whenever I write a blog post on sequels, I tend to re-read what I wrote on the first part back in the day. Especially my favorite films get such treatment, during which I realize over and over again how lame my old blog posts where. Whereas I tend to remember the respective films vividly, the posts I write on them do not reflect that at all. In this case, all these things I wrote about “Tropa de Elite” back in the day still hold true. But actually, it was much more than that. “Tropa de Elite” made me think, it made me cry and – most of all – it gave me a fresh perspective on the world that rarely another film did. In comparison to that, “Tropa de Elite 2” is much smarter yet at the same time, maybe it’s a little too smart. Nascimento obviously had to grow up some, and we all know that it’s the system itself that is wrong; that corrupt politicians and police are the reason why the slums in Rio de Janeiro is a horrible place.
I was actually really sad at Matias’s death, although I saw it coming. I thought it was really touching how Nascimento called him “André” all the way until the end, and how serious he remained about their friendship. I also really enjoyed Fraga as the likable antagonist. The dangerous mix of Nascimento’s work and family life was what made this film so different from the first, even though direction, atmosphere and storyline were largely similar. The film might be mostly a “more of the same” kind of sequel, but in this case it’s more of the same awesomeness.
I doubt they will make a third movie out of it. If they do, it’s pretty much bound to become inferior to the previous titles like “Infernal Affairs 3” or “Godfather 3” which I still have not seen. As just a sequel, “Tropa de Elite 2” did almost perfectly in reviving my love for the franchise.