Directed by:
James DeMonacoScreenplay:
James DeMonacoCinematography:
Jacques JouffretComposer:
Nathan WhiteheadCast:
Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul, Edwin Hodge, Michael Kenneth Williams, Justina Machado, Jack Conley, John Beasley (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
The New Founders of America invite you to celebrate your annual right to Purge. The Purge: Anarchy, the sequel to summer 2013's sleeper hit that opened to No. 1 at the box-office, sees the return of writer/director James DeMonaco to craft the next terrifying chapter of dutiful citizens preparing for their country's yearly 12 hours of anarchy. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (5)
In my opinion, weaker than the more intimate first movie. While it has likeable characters and a great intro that manages to evoke an atmosphere of hopelessness and the fear of ordinary people in the face of an impending storm exactly as I would have wanted throughout the rest of the film, as the minutes tick by, DeMonaco turns the story into a B-grade action video game where the heroes run around the city and seemingly complete new missions at random. The "climax" in this respect is the dark and opaque shootout at the very end, which pretty much says it all. The only thing I enjoyed is the idea of rich men using The Purge to capture random people and then hunt them down in an enclosed arena, purely for fun and, of course, for money. 50%
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The Purge: Anarchy is much better than the first instalment; I considered giving it a fourth star. It is more sensitive in the treatment of characters, with more suspense, a cleverer script and more plot development, as well as more poignant in its provocative criticism of American capitalism. Dark and brutal, depressing due to the unpleasantly realistic subject and entertaining with its thriller pace with a lot of shootouts, Anarchy looks a bit like a video game in which you have to shoot your way to safety through a crowded, damn dangerous city at night.
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The more space the characters have to move around, the more space they have to behave like morons. If anything, I have to acknowledge that the second Purge at least tries not to copy the first episode and makes better use of its initial premise, though its hollowness hasn’t changed at all since the previous one, but whatever. What bothered me the most were the characters, in particular the mother with her daughter, who were very annoying. In contrast, Frank Grillo was fine and I wouldn’t mind if he was the only protagonist, and the entire second Purge was only about his journey across the chaotic city towards his rightful revenge. Another thing that bothered me were the moments where the creators probably think they are delivering a sharp social satire (the scene of the auction, in particular, is utter nonsense), but they actually don’t say anything at all about society, because their world stands on a very wobbly logic. But overall, I have nothing against this film, it’s an inoffensive and eager B-movie.
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For me, definitely better than the first part. More likeable characters, especially Frank Grillo, who produces plenty of corpses, amazing pace, the film gets going from the beginning and doesn't let up until the end, solid bad guys and very disturbing masks. I have to say that at times I was scared of the bastards who enjoy killing, and of course the twist in the final third was very satisfying. So for me, I'm very satisfied and I finally know why the film is not just called The Purge 2. 80%
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The Purge: Anarchy is certainly not a great step towards realizing its potential. DeMonaco is riding his action spectacle, which surprisingly isn't as gritty or brutal anymore. In this regard, the film has lost some of its edge, and there aren't scenes here that really grab me anymore. That's a shame because I'm sure that with such a setting and premise, it could definitely be possible. The ending is just a classic form of satisfaction that doesn't really push any boundaries.
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