Starring: Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, and Zoë Soul
Directed by: James DeMonaco
Screenplay by: James DeMonaco
"Blessed be our New Founding Fathers for letting us Purge and cleanse our souls. Blessed be America, a nation reborn."
In the not too distant future, America has changed quite a bit. A new government has come to power known as the New Founding Fathers, and has basically turned the American government into religion. People are constantly saying the quote above. The NFFA has established a new annual holiday called the Purge, where all crime, including murder, is legal for 12 hours. Supposedly, the Purge has made America a more productive society and it does more good than harm.
The first film in the series came out last year, and follows an affluent family who lives in a gated community and their attempt to survive the purge inside their home. This year, the Purge moves to the streets of downtown Los Angeles, the sight of much of the violence on Purge night. First, we meet Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and Cali (Zoë Soul), a mother and daughter trying to survive the night in their home until someone in their building breaks into their apartment. They then move to the streets and try to survive there because it is no longer safe in their home. There, they meet a man who is known only as Sergeant (Frank Grillo) who saves them from a potential kidnapping. Shortly after that, they meet Liz (Kiele Sanchez) and Shane (Zach Gilford), a couple trying to survive the night after their car breaks down shortly before commencement. The five of them must survive the night together; so how will they do?
If you saw last year's The Purge, you probably laughed a lot during the film because of it's complete and total cheesiness. You won't laugh nearly as much at this film because of its cheesiness. This film has almost all the same elements as the last one, yet it's a much more serious film with a more serious tone. I think this is because we tend to rally behind these characters more than we did with the characters of the last film. These are characters who are forced onto the streets to survive the night. Perhaps it is the fact that they are underdogs that is the reason we rally behind them.
This is not a film one should see for particularly good acting performances. There is no outstanding acting in this film, nor is there any outstanding action in this film. The Purge: Anarchy is technically a horror film, yet there is little that is scary about it. Like any good horror movie these days, there are startling moments, but nothing that could leave audiences scarred from something scary that happens in the film.
My biggest problem with the film is a discrepancy that I fear the filmmakers did not notice. Part of the film's title is the word, "anarchy". This would mean, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, that there are no rules or laws to govern people. The Purge has a few guidelines that basically only tell us which weapons are allowed and which weapons are not allowed, and who has immunity from the Purge. If it was true anarchy, these rules would not apply to anybody and everybody would be fair game for Purgers. Also, the government seems highly involved in the purging. Audiences might notice a bunch of large industrial strength killing trucks; and yes, those are run by the government. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but it still bothers me nonetheless.
My verdict: unless you've seen last year's The Purge, you'll be just fine either waiting to rent or just flat out skipping The Purge: Anarchy.
I give The Purge: Anarchy a C.
Directed by: James DeMonaco
Screenplay by: James DeMonaco
"Blessed be our New Founding Fathers for letting us Purge and cleanse our souls. Blessed be America, a nation reborn."
In the not too distant future, America has changed quite a bit. A new government has come to power known as the New Founding Fathers, and has basically turned the American government into religion. People are constantly saying the quote above. The NFFA has established a new annual holiday called the Purge, where all crime, including murder, is legal for 12 hours. Supposedly, the Purge has made America a more productive society and it does more good than harm.
The first film in the series came out last year, and follows an affluent family who lives in a gated community and their attempt to survive the purge inside their home. This year, the Purge moves to the streets of downtown Los Angeles, the sight of much of the violence on Purge night. First, we meet Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and Cali (Zoë Soul), a mother and daughter trying to survive the night in their home until someone in their building breaks into their apartment. They then move to the streets and try to survive there because it is no longer safe in their home. There, they meet a man who is known only as Sergeant (Frank Grillo) who saves them from a potential kidnapping. Shortly after that, they meet Liz (Kiele Sanchez) and Shane (Zach Gilford), a couple trying to survive the night after their car breaks down shortly before commencement. The five of them must survive the night together; so how will they do?
If you saw last year's The Purge, you probably laughed a lot during the film because of it's complete and total cheesiness. You won't laugh nearly as much at this film because of its cheesiness. This film has almost all the same elements as the last one, yet it's a much more serious film with a more serious tone. I think this is because we tend to rally behind these characters more than we did with the characters of the last film. These are characters who are forced onto the streets to survive the night. Perhaps it is the fact that they are underdogs that is the reason we rally behind them.
This is not a film one should see for particularly good acting performances. There is no outstanding acting in this film, nor is there any outstanding action in this film. The Purge: Anarchy is technically a horror film, yet there is little that is scary about it. Like any good horror movie these days, there are startling moments, but nothing that could leave audiences scarred from something scary that happens in the film.
My biggest problem with the film is a discrepancy that I fear the filmmakers did not notice. Part of the film's title is the word, "anarchy". This would mean, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, that there are no rules or laws to govern people. The Purge has a few guidelines that basically only tell us which weapons are allowed and which weapons are not allowed, and who has immunity from the Purge. If it was true anarchy, these rules would not apply to anybody and everybody would be fair game for Purgers. Also, the government seems highly involved in the purging.
My verdict: unless you've seen last year's The Purge, you'll be just fine either waiting to rent or just flat out skipping The Purge: Anarchy.
I give The Purge: Anarchy a C.
Comments
Post a Comment