The Purge: Anarchy is a film unconcerned with social commentary (yes, there is a small sub-plot involving an anti-Purge group that is opposed to the rich and there is a theory here about why the Purge is actually being held that involves a corrupt government, but the film seems more interested in the violence then anything else. These subplots are just sweet toppings. ). It doesn't even have a plot per say. Basically, in this film we follow a small group of survivors in LA as they attempt to survive this year's Purge. This simple plot allows us to fully explore what goes on during Purge night as we wander the streets of the city, getting to watch many insane acts of violence along the way.
The first Purge wanted to be a horror film, The Purge: Anarchy however just wants you to have a bloody, violent, crazy good time. The emphasis here is on violence and action, and we get a TON of it. The film is filled with blood, gunplay, and general savagery and brutality. In fact, most of the running time is dedicated to intense violence. To it's credit, these scenes are actually pretty well done and even manage to be fun most of the time. It helps that we have Frank Grillo as our guide on this crazy night (more on him later).
Naturally, The Purge: Anarchy is not without it's faults. The script is pretty weak, managing to be very silly but in an action B movie kind of way (yes, there are some cool, funny one-liners). The characters are, for the most part, poorly written. There's Liz (Kiele Sanchez) and Shane (Zach Gilford), the estranged couple on the verge of separation, and Cali (Zoe Soul) and Tanya (Carmen Ejogo), the mother-daughter duo. These characters you neither care about or are likely to remember. In fact, the most annoying character is Cali, WHO WILL NOT SHUT UP (Oh believe me, you will be rooting for her to die). The only character worth remembering here is Sergeant (Frank Grillo), who is for all intents and purposes Batman (or maybe The Punisher). He is loaded to the gills with an arsenal of weapons, and has set out on Purge night with a singular goal: VENGEANCE. He is easily the most likable character here and his scenes (which is pretty much every scene) are fun and exciting. He really is believable as the ultimate bad-ass, and with him leading the way you feel like you are in good hands.
I'm surprised to say this is my personal favorite movie of the summer thus far. For myself, this was exactly what the doctor ordered. I had an absolute blast with this movie. It's tons of fun to sit in a crowded theater, yell at the screen, laugh your butt off, and cheer to your hearts content (don't worry, everyone in my theater was doing exactly what I was). This film made me pump my fists quite a bit. The action was thrilling, the violence was fantastic, and it felt like I was purging along with every other sadistic psycho in this film. Oh yes, it is a ton of fun (in case I haven't made that clear by now).
The Purge: Anarchy is retarded in the best way possible. It's insane, crazy, and doesn't give a crap about plot, memorable characters, or a half-way decent script. It's actually kind of amazing and awesome. This is the closest we're going to get to a true grind house film in the modern day, so if you're into that kind of thing this is most definitely your film (I'd also qualify this as a midnight movie). While the trailer for this film looked iffy, I am happy to say that The Purge: Anarchy is the rare film that actually delivers the goods. It's easily a TON better than it's weak predecessor. If you're looking for violence, gunplay, action, and fun....if you just want to explore the seedy streets of LA during Purge night then you need look no further than The Purge: Anarchy.
4 stars
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