The Purge: AnarchyPosted by Wilson Morales
When The Purge came out in 2013, it became this small budget hit that no one expected. The premise was simple. In order to reduce the crime rate, one night every year, for a full 12 hours, any crime can be committed without facing consequences. In the previous film, it was about a family struggling from inside their own home. In “The Purge: Anarchy,” the same rule still applies, but this time the setting is outside, where it’s survival of the fittest among five individuals. Excluding the social and political angle of the film, the film is an improvement over the first, with Frank Grillo’s commanding performance standing out amongst the cast. It moves at a fast pace, which keeps the audience entertained.
Set in the near future, when the purge begins, Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and her daughter Cali (Zoë Soul) have to abandon their apartment after Eva’s father disappears and neighbors are being executed. Then there’s Shane (Zach Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez), a couple who traveling to tell Shane’s sister that they are breaking up, are stranded in the streets when their cars breaks down as the purge is about to begins. Meanwhile, a military man is on the prowl looking to exact revenge on someone who he believes was the issue his marriage collapses. It’s every person for themselves until they all meet and have to find a way together to survive the night.
There’s been plenty of “kill or be killed” stories, but writer/director James DeMonaco has improve from the first film by keeping the action and suspense going though the end. Every character presents a case as to why the audience thinks they should live. As the leader of this ragtag fleet, Grillo is effective as the one who has a different motive than everyone and with a layer of emotions that one never knows what his end game is headed. If there’s a flaw within the film, it’s the politics that play two-thirds in the film that spell out the difference between the rich and the poor. That sequence was poorly executed and leaves one asking many questions.
Aside from that, the rest of the film moves at a brisk pace. It really isn’t a sequel to the first, but more of a follow-up with better results.
