The Purge: Anarchy: Movie Review
Last year, Writer/Director James DeMonaco came up with the clever idea of having his movie take place during an event called the annual purge in which all crime (even murder) would be legal for a 12 hour period each year. Then “The Purge” came out and the whole thing took place in a family home. DeMonaco took a great concept and then wasted it with a boring paint-by-numbers home invasion story that couldn’t even be salvaged by its’ talented leads Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey. Thankfully, the sequel “The Purge: Anarchy” corrects the first film’s biggest issue and takes the action outside through the streets of downtown Los Angeles. The follow up may be stupid, but at least this time it isn’t boring.
This time around, we follow various groups of people who are just trying to survive the night. First there is a young couple, Liz (Kiele Sanchez) and Shane (Zach Gilford) whose car breaks down in the middle of the street with the purge about to begin. Next we have Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and Cali (Zoë Soul) a mother and daughter who are also out on the streets without protection. Finally we have our reluctant hero Leo (Frank Grillo), a man who has his own agenda with a war-ready car and a trunk full of weapons.
Leo’s plans take a back seat when he sees Eva and Cali about to be slaughtered. He wants to move on, but he can’t so he intervenes. After that, Shane and Liz wind up with Leo, Eva and Cali. Leo agrees to help the others if they help him get to where he needs to go. There is a lot more action in “The Purge: Anarchy”, but I couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like if it was directed by John Carpenter. This is totally the type of film that Carpenter excelled at (Escape from New York, Assault on Precinct 13). DeMonaco is able to keep things moving quickly and Grillo is a solid lead.
There is plenty of stupidity here and I rather see no blood than poorly rendered CGI blood, but aside from that, those who liked the first movie (if there are any of you out there), will most likely enjoy the sequel. For those of you who hated the first film like I did, I promise, this may not be great, but it’s a big improvement.
By: Marc Ferman