Culture Magazine

Movie Reviews 101 Halloween Midnight Horror – The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

By Newguy

logoDirector: James DeMonaco

Writer: James DeMonaco (Screenplay)

Starring: Frank Grillo, Carman Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoe Soul, Justina Machado, John Beasley, Jack Conley

Plot: Three groups of people are trying to survive Purge Night, when their stories intertwine and are left stranded in The Purge trying to survive the chaos and violence that occurs.

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Better Than Original

Story: The Purge: Anarchy starts by reminding us about the rules of the The Purge and that is will be starting in a couple of hours. We follow couple Shane (Gilford) & Liz (Sanchez) traveling home, Eva (Ejogo) & Cali (Soul) who has been working to make sure her father gets medicine and Sergeant (Grillo) preparing to take part in the Purge. As the Purge approaches we learn about the characters mindset with Shane & Liz looking to get a separation getting caught out in the start of the Purge. Sergeant looking to get revenge on something that caused his life to fall apart and we are off.

The Purge under way and we see all the characters come out to play, we see Cali and Eva taken for Big Daddy (Conley), as Sergeant continues his hunt stopping and before long the five of them find themselves together trying to survive the Purge. As the night continues the five characters learn that the government are up to something looking to take out certain neighbourhoods during the Purge that Carmelo (Williams) had warned about.

group

The Purge: Anarchy finally brings us the film we wanted from the idea in this film. The first one only had a family trapped trying to survive which really didn’t work very well at all. This time we get the action on the outside as we watch a small group of survivors make it through the night, this is all we wanted, we get to see the estranged people who enjoy killing after them, we continue to see a range of hunter but the best improvement is the idea that the government is actually involved in the killing and using it as a way to get what they want. This gives us the start of a battle between the good people and the crazed people in the future. This was a dramatic improvement to the first which was much needed. (7/10)

Actor Review

Frank Grillo: Sergeant is a man on a mission to get revenge on a man, what he has done is unknown, going about his night he decides to help some victims only to find himself wondering around the Purge without his car while attracting the attention of two gangs who have targeted the victims he is helping. Frank plays the anti hero really well and shows that all these supporting roles were only to get him to the leading man role. (8/10)

sergeant

Carman Ejogo: Eva Sanchez is stuck outside after her home is broken into, she along with her daughter get saved by Sergeant who agrees to help them get to safety. Carman fills the supporting role well but like most of them doesn’t add too much to the film. (6/10)

Zach Gilford: Shane is one part of a dysfunctional couple of the verge of separation he gets caught outside and spends the film on the run with Sergeant trying to stay alive. Zach does a solid job in supporting role but never really does enough to stand out. (5/10)

Kiele Sanchez: Liz is the other part of the separating couple who gets caught out in the Purge, she is constantly worried before hand and rightfully so, because her and Shane attract a gang from before the Purge starts. Kiele like the rest is a standard supporting role that doesn’t do too much. (5/10)

Zoe Soul: Cali gets taken along with her mother Eva but is saved by Sergeant leaving her to start believing in a rebel leader who believes the Purge is a government cover up. Zoe fills the supporting role well but just like the rest doesn’t add too much. (5/10)

Support Cast: The Purge: Anarchy is filled with plenty of characters that come out during the Purge which add to the survival side to the story.

Director Review: James DeMonacoJames steps up what he gave us first time out and this time he brings us a film that makes a lot more sense to the situation. (7/10)

Action: The Purge: Anarchy has plenty of action but mostly gun fire as our good guys try to survive the situation. (7/10)

Horror: The Purge: Anarchy puts use into a horror situation where our characters have to survive unlikely odds against the sickest minds. (8/10)

Sci-Fi: The Purge: Anarchy enters us into a future world with a situation where people kill people for fun. (7/10)

Thriller: The Purge: Anarchy does keep us rooting for our group of heroes as they end up facing the odds to survive. (8/10)

Settings: The Purge: Anarchy brings the action into the city only this time everything is locked and our characters are trapped outside desperately trying to survive. (8/10)
Special Effects: The Purge: Anarchy doesn’t really rely on special effects but one death looked dreadful on effects. (3/10)

Suggestion: The Purge: Anarchy is one to really give a go, you don’t need to see the original as there is no connection and this is far superior. (Try It)

Best Part: Sergeant character.

Worst Part: Lack of depth to the supporting characters in the group.

Action Scene Of The Film: Rich players game.

Believability: No (0/10)

Chances of Tears: NO (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: It could easily have one.

Post Credits Scene: No

Oscar Chances: No

Box Office: $71 Million

Budget: $9 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

Tagline: Welcome to America where one night a year all crime is legal

Overall: A sequel that could be one of the best improvements on the original in years.

Rating

72


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