Review of The First Purge (2018) by Kyle L — 24 Aug 2018

Politically thematic on its social commentaries, the latest entry in the long running Purge franchise is the best one yet since its two sequels, The Purge Anarchy and Election Year. The First Purge takes place years before the events of the 2013 original where the New Founding Fathers Of America has announced a new program that will raise the system of the economy for the United States and a new government.

This program is called the "Purge" where all crime is legal for twelve hours and they start the first Purge test on Staten Island, New York. The low class citizens soon must defend themselves against the middle class wealthy ones in order to survive the very first Purge.

I've watched all four Purge movies and with each film, the series gets bloodier and more violent as it goes on. Not only that, it also raised the stakes and the filmmakers behind these movies invents new ideas that brings fresh air for this long running political franchise.

Whereas the 2013 original was a solid film that introduced the concept of the Purge but suffers from a number of setbacks, The two sequels surpassed the original by taking the viewers out on the streets as we see the violence and chaos through our very own eyes during the twelve hours purge night.

This movie takes us back to where and how it all began as we see the government commence the very first Purge before it went through other parts of the US and it does a fine job in exploring it. What makes these movies great are the social and political themes as each film explores the differences between Middle and Low class US citizens plus it also explores the themes of racism in a naturalistic yet grounded way especially the rich and poor people.

Because this franchise explores the dark side of America while sending a very logical message at the same time. Just like the previous films, we see the chaotic moments happen on Purge night (people getting robbed, dangerous gangs roaming the streets, psychopaths and junkies wrecking havoc etc.

.) and it is done in a very scary yet thrilling way. The characters are nearly as believable as the ones from the previous two films, the violence has escalated in a whole new level to satisfy gore hounds.

There are so many scenes that are packed with suspense and well crafted tension (The creepy opening scene, one of the characters getting a cut from a junkie, the first Purge kill, the brutal party attack, Dmitri fighting off his attackers, the thrilling smoke grenade scene where Dmitri and his gang kill Ku Klux Klan folks on purge night, the suspenceful drone attack, the exploding stuffed bears in the alley and the action packed plus brutal finale where Dmitri saves his ex girlfriend and her brother along with a few people against a group of fully trained Purgers in the building).

The criminals are all creepy in their own right and the settings are fantastic. Now the acting is great, the performances of the main leads are great and believable as their characters. Marisa Tomei is fantastic in her role as Dr.

May Updale and she is a great addition to the cast and the role suits her. This time, the filmmaker behind the camera is Director Gerard McMurray with previous director James DeMonaco penning the script and they handled this prequel with meticulous care as we get another fantastic entry in this long running socially, political franchise that brings it full circle for the fans.

Overall, The First Purge is another incredible entry in The Purge films that delivers a political message while being true to the spirit of its predecessors in the overall execution. This movie gets a 10/10.