The Purge: Anarchy (FILM REVIEW)
The Purge: Anarchy
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Grisly Sequel Chronicles Another Struggle to Survive Annual One-Day War of
Attrition
Dateline: America, 2023. It’s now nine years since
the country voted the New Founders of America into power. High on that elitist
political party’s agenda was designating March 21st as the Purge, a day
on which all law is suspended, meaning anything goes, rape, robbery, even
murder.
Most citizens opt to stay inside for the duration of the annual
ordeal, battening down the hatches with a Bible or a weapon in hand, since they
can’t call upon the cops to come to their assistance in the event of an
emergency. Yet, many turn vigilante to rid the streets of the dregs of humanity,
others seize on the opportunity to even the score with someone they have a
grievance against.
A couple of hours before the “fun” starts, we find Eva (Carmen
Ejogo) rushing home from her job at a diner to be with her teen daughter, Cali (Zoe Soul). In the
process, the attractive waitress
ignores the crude passes of both a co-worker (Nicholas Gonzalez) and her
apartment building’s custodian (Noel Gugliemi).
Elsewhere, Liz (Kiele
Sanchez) and Shane (Zach Gilford) are driving to his sister’s while debating
about whether to inform her that their marriage is on the rocks. But the two soon
land in desperate straits when their car conks out on the highway only minutes
before the siren sounds signaling the beginning of the Purge.
That moment can’t
come soon enough for revenge-minded Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) who’s itching to get
even with the drunk driver (Brandon Keener) that not only killed his son, but
got off scot-free on a legal technicality. However, soon after the Purge
starts, the police sergeant reflexively comes to the assistance of Eva, Cali, Liz and Shane, all
of whom are on the run from a bloodthirsty death squad.
So, he puts his plan
on the backburner temporarily to protect the frightened foursome. That endeavor
proves easier said than done in The Purge: Anarchy, a stereotypical horror sequel
in that it ups the ante in terms of violence, body count, pyrotechnics and
gratuitous gore.
Unfortunately, the
film pales in comparison to the original, which was a thought-provoking thriller
raising questions about poverty and privilege. This relatively-simplistic installment
pays lip service to that intriguing theme in almost insulting fashion, envisioning
instead a nihilistic U.S.
which has merely degenerated into a decadent dystopia where blood-thirsty rich snobs
relish slaying the poor purely for sport.
It is, thus, no
surprise to witness the rise of an African-American guerilla leader (Michael K.
Williams) who’s exhorting the masses to revolt by indicting the Purge as racist.
An entertaining enough, if incoherent, splatterfest which unapologetically lifts
familiar elements from such apocalyptic classics as The Hunger Games (2012), V
for Vendetta (2006), The Warriors (1979), Escape from New York (1981) and Hard
Target (1993).
A perhaps prophetic satire
celebrating senseless slaughter as a natural national holiday in such a gun-loving
country!
Good (2 stars)
Rated R
for profanity and graphic violence
Running time: 103 minutes
Distributor: Universal
Pictures
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