The Purge: Anarchy review

The first "Purge" movie was a mess.

In James DeMonaco's first film, the premise of one night a year where all crime is legal was a really interesting idea, that was not executed properly. The movie was boring, underwritten, and got more and more nonsensical. But with 'The Purge: Anarchy', it seems as if DeMonaco came to a realization. Take the idea into the streets, and make it a dark action film, with hints of horror, without making it a generic slasher fest. While this movie is far from perfect, that idea seemed to really work for the progression of this franchise.

The setup is the same as before. In the not too distant future (insert Mystery Science Theater 3000 lyrics here) crime rate is obsolete, poverty is at an all time low, and life seems to be going a lot easier for our country thanks to our NEW founding fathers. But this comes at (what some might consider) a cost. For every last night of winter, all crime, including murder, is legal. It is the night of 'The Purge'. Not everyone must participate if they don't want to, but the one's who do are allowed designated firearms and hand to hand weaponry to let all their demons come out for one night.

This film follows five different characters who are each out on the streets for completely convincing reasons, given the plot. A young mother and her daughter (played by Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul) who live in lower middle class are dragged out of their home by armed soldiers to be auctioned off to rich people who can use them as target practice for purging. The other two characters are a young bickering married couple ('Friday Night Lights's Scott Gilford and 'The Glades's Kiele Sanchez) who's car breaks down only an hour before the night of terror begins. And finally there's a lone warrior seeking the vengeance of someone he lost. He chooses the Purge as the best night to attack. He's our main character who goes only by the name of 'Sergeant' (played wonderfully by Frank Grillo). Of course all these characters intertwine and must help each other out in get each other out of whatever predicament they're in.

The first thing I enjoyed about this movie is its moody atmosphere. The whole film feels like an homage to classic John Carpenter or Walter Hill films among the likes of Escape from New York or The Warriors. When the siren for the Purge to begin goes off, there's a great three minute montage shot in mostly slow motion of all the frightening gangs getting ready for their night to go wild. It seems very retro and atmospheric and really gets you ready for what you're about to see. As a matter of fact, the whole movie is shot really well. It's not pretty, but it's definitely artistic. There are some magnificent long shots of Grillo's character driving through the desolated streets at night where the camera is placed on the hood of his heavily armored car. No dialogue and very minimal music, but it really gives you goosebumps. There's also some really cool helicopter shots of the main group running through the empty city streets.

The movie is also surprisingly smart. There are a lot of current metaphors on how we view violence and weapons control as a nation. Usually I find metaphors in a movie like this to be extremely forced and unnecessary, but it's done very well in this movie. It also touches on how the rich view the lower middle class quite unrelentingly. When we see the financially privileged begin bidding on the poor. It's also interesting note that the people bidding are usually elderly white people, while the rest are of latino or African American descent.

Now, even with the great visuals, cast, and social commentary, the movie definitely has its share of problems. The young couple in the main group are very generic, annoying, side characters that you'd come to expect in this film. I wouldn't usually mind, but the rest of the group is so different and unique that they feel extremely out of place. I also wasn't fully on board with an idea of revolution against the Purge that is hinted at throughout the film, and finally comes to play in the final fifteen minutes. It felt somewhat undefined, and sort of sucked out any of the remaining horror aspects this movie had under its belt, and made it a generic action shoot 'em up. The ending also feels far too neatly tied up. Everything gets resolved so quickly, and kind of predictably. It's a shame, cause this could've been a great film, instead of just a good one.

But still, even with these problems, I recommend checking out the sequel to 'The Purge'. If you're not into violent action/horror movies, this might not be for you. But if you're into that stuff like I am, go buy a ticket, or rent it at least.

In the end, it's not without its faults, but a definite improvement over its lame predecessor.

Grade: B

Reviewed by Josh McCormack