Review of The First Purge (2018) by Kevin P — 10 Jan 2019

Strengths: One thing holds up with each installment of The Purge. The concept is fantastic. There are just so many ways this series can go. Taking it back to the first ever experiment was a nice idea and some of what they did worked. Keeping it contained to an island, especially one featuring lower class citizens, made sense. As usual, the violence works and the filmmakers donâ(TM)t really hold back in terms of showing it all. From an action standpoint, a lot of this works. Mo McRae (7 & 7) and Lauren Velez (Luisa) give solid supporting performances.

Weaknesses: None of the acting is anything to write home about. Yâ(TM)lan Noel (Dmitri), Lex Scott Davis (Nya), and Jolvan Wade (Isaiah) are all kind of just there. While I donâ(TM)t think Marisa Tomei (Dr. May Updale) was bad, she was distracting. Sheâ(TM)s far too big a star to cast in this. It takes you out of the environment and thatâ(TM)s not a good thing. The script does everyone no favors, forcing dialogue and not providing characters with enough development. They all just feel like cardboard cutouts. Lastly, the film seems to try way too hard to send a social message. Using poor minorities as the victims is fine, but the movie never does enough to make it work the way it needs to and it feels hollow.

Overall: The idea behind the movie is another hit for the series, but the execution lacks more than ever. Flat characters, bad writing, and lackluster action all over.