The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

The original purge wasn't a horrible movie, it just wan't a good one either. It has a decent premise, but it just failed to really do anything with it. One day out of the year, oddly enough my daughters birthday, all crime is legal for 12 hours. There are rules such as what kind of weapons you can use, but pretty much anything goes. Certain high level officials are off limits, but all law enforcement and medical services are suspended until the purge is over. The idea is that crime got so far out of hand, that giving people this one night allowed them to get it out of their system. And it actually worked, crime rates have dropped. The first movie was about a single family on Purge night. They were targeted for saving a groups purge target. As such the movie was a invasion film, and really did nothing new or special. People break into the house, and they try and defend themselves. It ended up being a fairly tame and boring film. The Purge Anarchy takes the criticism against the first film, and tries to rework the franchise into what it should have always been. A look into the outside world during the purge.

The movie is about a a group who get stuck outside during the purge, they have to band together to try and survive through the night. Each has their own reason for being out there, and I won't spoil them here. But the 5 come together and have to fight back against there on individual tormentors. One couple is being chased by a band of masked riders led by the silent "I am God." While the other 3 are being hunted by somebody only known as "Big Daddy," a guy with a semi and a Gatling gun. The different stories and reasons don't really matter for the most part, as it is all about survival and not what got them to that point. By focusing on something so simple, the movie is able to better explore what is going on with them. There is also a sub plot involving Michael Kenneth Williams character, Carmelo Johns, but even that mostly just serves as a way to give the viewer a idea of how the rest of the world feels about the conflict.

The story is much tighter this time around, due mostly to the lack of one. And that is not the only way the movie has improved. It gets rid of the tense atmosphere and stops trying to be scary, and instead goes the action route. It focuses more on the violence and the terror of the situation. We see our survivors go from normal people who would never even think of purging, to killers who are out there for a reason. You see character development as ones motives change and they receive a huge moment as the film goes on. We even get a better look into the minds of the purgers and learn more about the process then we did in the original. One really neat thing I liked was how they addressed the different classes and how they purge. As well as the question of would people really do this if it was a real thing. Seeing everything come together at the end was really cool, even if you did see it coming long before then. And even though the purgers are well within their legal right, it is made easy to view them as villains. The Rich and upper class are by far the easiest to hate, and that whole portion of the film was just fantastic.

Acting was good, no real complaints. I was unfamiliar with most of the people in here, but they all were more then adequate for this type of film. Frank Grillo played the nameless lead, and he was brutal and fun to watch. Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul played the family, and were easy to relate to. Zoe was the odd one out, as I really didn't care for her. However even that I feel was intentional as she was a very opinionated teenager who you just wanted to shut up at most points. Michael Kenneth Williams killed it with his Radical anti political rally speeches, and the various purgers were all kinds of creepy and intimidating.

So we have a much better story, a film with a stronger focus. It spends more time dealing with the purge itself, and explores the concept and the way people deal and participate in it. We get a much broader understanding of the event, and the movie was far better for it. Acting that doesn't take you out of the moment, and some cool and violent moments. Add in themes that 90% of the population can get behind and identify with, and you have a pretty solid movie. When I heard there was going to be a second Purge I had no interest in it. Now if I hear there will be a third, I may actually see it in the theater. That is the best praise I can give this one, it changed my opinion and proved me wrong.