The Purge: Anarchy Review

Rated R (Strong Disturbing Violence, and for Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 43 Minutes

Cast-

Frank Grillo-Sergeant Leo Barnes

Carmen Ejogo-Eva Sanchez

Zoë Soul-Cali Sanchez

Zach Gilford-Shane

Kiele Sanchez-Liz

Michael K. Williams-Carmelo

John Beasley-Rico Sanchez

Jack Conley-Big Daddy

Justina Machado-Tanya

Castulo Guerra-Barney

Roberta Valderrama-Lorraine

Niko Nicotera-Roddy

Noel Gugliemi-Diego

Edwin Hodge-The Stranger

Keith Stanfield-Young Ghoul Face

Brandon Keener-Warren Grass

Judith McConnell-Old Elegant Woman

Directed by James DeMonaco

Here we go again with the purgin'!

Note: Screened on Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13.

This is the way Hollywood currently operates: if a film made a lot of money, it gets a sequel green-lit almost immediately, which is the only reason "The Purge: Anarchy" even exists. Last June, Universal released "The Purge," a dystopian sci-fi/horror thriller from Jason Blum's low-budget production company Blumhouse Productions and Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes. Directed by James DeMonaco and shot on a measly budget of $3 million, "The Purge" went on to gross an impressive $34.1 million during its opening weekend. With a final worldwide tally of $89.3 million, a sequel was pretty much a no-brainer. In fact, Blumhouse announced a follow-up just three days after the release of the first film. There was only one problem: "The Purge" was a terrible film, coming in at a dreadful 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, critics weren't the only ones who hated it because if you take a look at the user score, it's at 37%! With critics and audiences both panning the film in equal measure, you have to wonder how the heck did "The Purge" make so much money in the first place. The answer: an intriguing premise and a clever marketing campaign. DeMonaco set his film in a nightmarish United States where the federal government has legalized all criminal activity, including murder, for one single night every year. Universal played up the concept with faux 'Emergency services will be suspended' posters and a viral website from the country's 'New Founding Fathers.' Unfortunately, the premise ended up being little more than a gimmick, with "The Purge" devolving into a generic home-invasion thriller. Returning for the sequel, DeMonaco hopes to capitalize on the first film's unrealized potential with "The Purge: Anarchy," which expands the scope to an entire city. That's about the only good thing that "Anarchy" does because the premise continues to be too outrageous to take seriously, the action is a shaky-cam mess, and the characters are written without an ounce of common sense.

March 21st, 2033—less than two-and-a-half hours before the sixth annual 'Purge' commences. With the clock slowly edging toward 7:00 PM, struggling single mother Eva Sanchez (Carmen Ejogo) quickly wraps up her waitressing shift at the local diner and heads home to spend the evening with her teenage daughter Cali (Zoë Soul) and ailing father Rico (John Beasley). Across town, a vengeful police sergeant named Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) loads up his arsenal of weapons in preparation for Purge night. At the same time, estranged couple Shane (Zach Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez) is driving to a relative's house when their car suddenly breaks down in the middle of the city. The two find themselves stalked by a group of creepily-masked assailants. Eva's hope for a peaceful night with her family is shattered once the Purge officially kicks off, with her apartment building coming under attack by a mysterious group of armed soldiers led by a man nicknamed 'Big Daddy' (Jack Conley). When Leo sees Eva and Cali about to be executed, he intervenes and is soon guiding the pair, along with Shane and Liz, to safety. As all manner of nefarious characters looking to 'release the beast' come out of the woodwork, Leo's rag-tag band struggle to survive the night. 

Oh hai there!

For those of you who have forgotten, "The Purge" films are set in the near-future and revolve around a dystopian United States led by the 'New Founding Fathers,' who've not only eliminated crime and poverty but also reduced unemployment to a mere 1%. Their success can be attributed to the Twenty-Eighth Amendment, which institutes an annual 'Purge' over the course of one single night—March 21-22, from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM—where all criminal activity, including murder, is legal. However, there are restrictions: 'Level Ten' government officials are off-limits and usage of 'Class Four' weaponry is forbidden. It's an absurd premise but one that can be made to work as long as it's plausible enough. Unfortunately, director James DeMonaco bungled his high-concept idea in the first film by not thinking it through logically. For one, what upended our country so suddenly to allow for such a 'holiday' to take place? Second, who makes sure that no one uses a 'restricted weapon' during this supposed free-for-all since there's no police? Third, what's stopping people from committing crimes on the other 364 days of the year? Fourth, why don't people just pack their bags and leave the country? Finally, what about the international community? Does the rest of the world have their own Purge nights or are they opposed to it? I was hoping for "Anarchy" to at least shed some light on these questions but DeMonaco is more interested in showing people violently kill each other. While he certainly made the right call by moving the action to the city, said action fails to really impress, coming off as generic and devolving into an indecipherable shaky-cam mess. Even when the bullets start flying, the sequel feels small-scale and never quite delivers on the chaos its premise promises, likely a studio decision that was made to keep the budget small so the film would more easily turn a profit.

The themes of class warfare are applied with a sledgehammer this time around, with the third act set during a party where the wealthy gleefully bid for the chance to purge while the victims are paraded on stage like chattel. Meanwhile, unrest is slowly building as firebrand insurgent Carmelo (Michael K. Williams) urges his supporters to take up arms against the wealthy. All this is meant to be a critique about the haves vs. the have-nots and serve as a condemnation for humanity's darker impulses but it's really just an excuse for moviegoers to giddily watch people mutilate each other while munching on popcorn. This is my biggest problem with "Anarchy" and "The Purge" series as a whole: it's pretending to be something that it's not. I would actually enjoy these films more if they embraced their status as exploitation flicks and didn't hide under a veneer of half-baked social commentary.

Frank Grillo manages to escape the film unscathed but the rest of the cast is saddled with moronic characters.

However, let's say that DeMonaco managed to fix all the problems that I just mentioned. "Anarchy" still wouldn't be a very good film because it's largely populated by moronic characters who meet under an equally-moronic set of contrived coincidences (Leo just happens to be driving by Eva's apartment; Shane and Liz just happen upon Leo's armored car). Frank Grillo's Leo Barnes is the only character in the film that's fully-realized. In fact, the fifty-one year old actor—last seen in April's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"—goes to great lengths to not only deliver a fantastic performance but also imbue the film with some measure of depth despite his character being little more than a derivative copy of Marvel's the Punisher. Come to think of it, Grillo would actually make for an excellent Punisher (hint, hint, Marvel Studios!). The rest of the cast unfortunately don't fare as well. Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez are actually husband-and-wife in real life but on-screen, they come off like two complete strangers who just met. It's not entirely their fault though as DeMonaco's script saddles them with tin-eared dialogue. Carmen Ejogo and Zoë Soul play a mother-and-daughter duo whose idiotic behavior frequently leads to eye-rolls. Take this scene for example: a would-be rapist breaks into Eva's apartment once the Purge officially kicks off but instead of staying quiet (as people who hide tend to do), Cali has the bright idea to shout 'Go away!', thereby revealing her and her mother's position. Cali's one of those 'too-smart-for-her-own-damn-good' teenagers, which means she never f*cking shuts up and has no common sense. If there's one character that deserves to be purged, it's her. Michael K. Williams (from HBO's "The Wire") also pops up in an all-too-brief role as a fiery revolutionary calling for the heads of the rich.

Released on July 18, 2014, "The Purge: Anarchy" has received mixed reviews with 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics agreed that it 'represents a slight improvement over its predecessor, but it's still never as smart or resonant as it tries to be.' I don't feel the same way. With the exception of its expanded setting, "Anarchy" is just as bad as the first film, if not worse. However, it'll still turn a profit given its $9 million production budget, with the sequel currently on pace to earn over $25 million. This means we're going to be getting a third "Purge" film next year. Hooray…NOT! Mr. DeMonaco, if you must persist with this inane franchise, then I implore you, please invest in someone who can write worth a damn!

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

"It's an unwritten Purge rule that we don't save lives. Tonight we take lives. We can't have any interference. We can't have heroes. No heroes."