The Purge: Catching Fire & Rescue (Movie Review)
The
Purge: Anarchy: 2 ½ out of 5
Leo: It’s late. You need to leave.
One of the more
impressive aspects of The Purge: Anarchy
is not really the movie itself, but the fact that how it was sold managed to
get me excited, despite the first ‘Purge’
from a year ago finding its way to my ‘Worst of 2013’ list. Fast-tracked sequel or not, ‘Anarchy’ seemed set out to resolve the
main issue that the first film created, which was to go a more open world
route, given the endless possibilities that the ridiculous basic concept set
up. Here is a film that exists in a
reality where crime and unemployment are at all-time lows in America, because a
12-hour period exists one night a year, where all crime (especially murder) is
legal. It is a very dumb premise if you
stop to think about it, but there is so much to do with that concept, which is
something this higher-budgeted sequel tries to do. With all of that said, even when considering
the couple degrees that separate this film from reality, in an effort to add
some level of social commentary, I did not take away much from this film that
will likely stick with me no further than a week.
Wisely starting fresh,
as opposed to revisiting Ethan Hawke’s very annoying family from the first
film, The Purge: Anarchy features
three main sets of people that eventually find each other during the night of
the annual Purge. Only one of these
people actually meant to be outside during the Purge, in the disaster zone that
is downtown Los Angeles. This person is Leo
(Frank Grillo), a man stocked with weapons, cruising around town in his
Purge-mobile, and hell-bent on getting revenge for the death of his son. We also have Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and Cali (Zoe
Soul), a mother and daughter who are forced out of their home, but are saved by
Leo. Then there is Shane and Liz (Zach
Gilford and Kiele Sanchez), a couple with the worst luck in the world, when it
comes to automobiles, as they also find themselves stranded in the night. Once this group teams up, the world is anything
but their oyster, as they travel around a minefield consisting of masked
strangers, random shootings, traps, and other violent opposition keeping them
from finding sanctuary.
As it turns out,
getting what you wanted is not always great.
Weird right? Many complained
about The Purge coming up with what
seemed like a sound premise for a horror-thriller, only to get a home-invasion
thriller that kept the concept fairly in the background. It did not help that the characters were
annoying and badly acted, but there is no need to re-hash my thoughts on that
film. With The Purge: Anarchy, the concept is examined closer, in a way, as we
follow characters stuck right in the middle of where lots of ‘Purging’ takes
place. The film still does not come
close to examining all the details of concept involving the idea of All crime being legal, but it does
present a look at a world that is clearly aping elements that exist in our
current society. Returning
writer/director James DeMonaco may or may not have all the answers to the logic
of his world, but he certainly has a level of anger or radical thoughts that
are being spilled out in this film.
Keeping that in mind, this sequel may delver further into the hell that
can be the night of the Purge, but it still actually feels restrained.
John Carpenter seems
like a clear influence on James DeMonaco, but films like Escape from New York or Assault
on Precinct 13 are able to accomplish so much more, because they take
darker chances. Sure, ‘Anarchy’ is technically a studio
produced film, so there may not have been a chance to go to certain places, but
at the same time, the film still feels like more of a ride through Purge City,
as opposed to one that truly places us in that world. We get to watch characters that are developed
nicely enough, but are only in what seems like the semblance of danger. There is a lead bad-ass character that has an
agenda, but is not shaded in any way that suggests he’s more than an anti-hero
with a heart of gold. We see violence
taking place, but between the digital blood and the lack of anything that
really makes this a harder R-rating than what could have come from a film with
this premise, it is more loud than scary.
It is not as if I needed
a more exploitative version of this film, especially when it provides a fairly
entertaining second and third act, but the sense of dread is way more palpable
in the first third, which is actually violence-free. The first 20-30 minutes are all
character-based and it is well-done stuff.
We don’t know everything about these people, but the fear, dread, and sense
of anguish is represented well. There is
also a layer of dark humor that comes in and sticks with the film, but it can
only do so much to make one enjoy the events taking place. Hints at what the possible sequel could be exist
too, which may actually dive into the politics of this whole thing, but I do
not know if I really care about all that.
The basic premise is outlandish and a simple story that does not back
down from the moral ambiguity (if you can even call ‘killing sprees and more’
that) that is on display.
I should mention Frank
Grillo in some way, as he is an actor that has become more and more prominent
in recent years and I really like what he has to offer. As Leo, he is the bad-ass lead character that
will likely come out on top in all this, given his agenda. Grillo makes the role work, based on what he
is given to do, and I can say the same about most of this cast. He basically gets to show off how good of a
Punisher he could be, if Marvel didn’t already make him Crossbones in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Still, there is not much to who this
character is that makes me question the greater message that DeMonaco may be
going for. This can be said for the film
as a whole too, as the iconography of this world may have significant meaning
behind it, but not a whole lot is done to make me appreciate it, let alone
cherish the entertainment found in the action on display.
The
Purge: Anarchy, a title questionable due to how I don’t
see much ‘anarchy’ in a film where crime is legal, is a step up from the first
film, but only meets the bare minimum in being something worthwhile. The ideas are there and the film is competently
made to a point, but feels like it is holding back. Whether it is because the question “how dark
is too dark?” came up or because there just was not enough time for this
fast-tracked sequel to dive in even deeper, the film is more of a mild distraction
in a summer full of spectacle, featuring a certain level brutality, rather than
a memorable journey into a world of despair with a layer of commentary to make
it more digestible. I am still strangely
intrigued by where it can go from here though, so hopefully Purge Hard with a Vengeance will really
deliver.
Liz: People like us don’t survive tonight!
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