Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»2577. Special Forces (2015)

    2577. Special Forces (2015)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on June 7, 2019 2015, 6 - 7.9, 90-99 mins, Action, Brazil, Crime, Drama, Jun 19, Movies Of 2019, Review, Thriller
    7.0 Interesting, but not thrilling
    • Acting 7.1
    • Directing 6.8
    • Story 7.0
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Cleo Pires, Fabrício Boliveira, Thiago Martins

    Director: Tomas Portella

    Running Time: 99 mins


    Special Forces (Operações Especiais) is a Brazilian film about a woman who, just a few months after joining the police, is recruited to a special operation to take down the corrupt and violent establishment in a provincial city.

    While it does offer up an interesting and often impressively nuanced look at the relationship between crime and authority, Special Forces is a film that just doesn’t have the audacity or ingenuity to really hit home, taking an interesting premise and portraying it through the guise of a really rather generic action movie, that lacks either the intense excitement or dramatic depth to grab you at any point.

    But let’s start on the bright side, with the fact that Special Forces does feature some interesting and regularly striking ideas about the nature of crime, the police, and their role in society. In that respect, it is far from a plain old action movie about good guys vs. bad guys, as the story brings into question the notion that honest, uncorrupt policing and authority is always something that can work for the greater good.

    While corruption and betrayal are a regular feature in all of these cop movies, it’s that slightly more nuanced and arguably real-world perception that makes Special Forces a really interesting watch at times, with its action and mystery working well as a vehicle to further that key theme, putting into question what we might regard as a desirable or normal relationship between the police and the wider public.

    Now, in that, you can draw parallels with a number of films, but the way that Special Forces tackles themes around the very nature of law enforcement reminded me of director David Ayer’s excellent drama End Of Watch. However, while the two films deal with similarly riveting ideas, the big difference is the way in which those ideas are portrayed, with End Of Watch taking a much bolder but infinitely more effective approach than Special Forces.

    With its quieter, more meditative atmosphere, End Of Watch worked really well as an engrossing drama that tells a story featuring police officers. Special Forces, on the other hand, goes the opposite way, attempting to use big action and crime thrills to achieve the same goals, but in doing so unfortunately cheapens the effect of what is a genuinely interesting and eye-opening story.

    The action may be fairly entertaining at times, but its loud and chaotic interruptions to the story distract from the intrigue brought about by those main themes, while the film’s attempts to craft an intricate and nail-biting crime mystery at the same time falls flat, only further taking away from the dramatic potential of it all.

    And that’s why I can’t say that the story here is all that impressive. Its themes and core ideas are excellent, and when it doubles down and focuses on them alone, it really makes for an interesting watch, but unlike End Of Watch, which stuck to its guns and kept those themes in centre stage, Special Forces is just a little too desperate to keep you excited and entertained, relying too much on action spectacle and unnecessary mystery throughout.

    Overall, then, I found Special Forces a bit of a mixed bag. While certainly not a bad film, it’s a movie with immense dramatic potential thanks to riveting and nuanced themes that’s unfortunately undone by a frustratingly simplistic and generic action movie style, failing to grab you and keep you there throughout with jarring interruptions and gimmick-ish subplots throughout, and that’s why I’m giving it a 7.0.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.2
    Review
    March 1, 20150

    874. Primal Fear (1996)

    8.1
    Review
    February 1, 20220

    3636. In The Name Of The Father (1993)

    8.1
    Review
    February 14, 20170

    1660. A Man Called Ove (2016)

    8.3
    Review
    February 7, 20150

    847. Snowpiercer (2013)

    8.0
    Review
    April 20, 20140

    532. Date Night (2010)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.