Review of The Purge (2013) by Shannon R — 02 Aug 2014
What we have here are two different halves to two different movies. One half being a home-invasion thriller and the other a parallel social allegory. It has a strong beginning with Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey portraying a well-to-do couple with two kids who stick to themselves a part from the rest of the neighborhood.
You find out Hawke's character creates the security system everyone uses to protect their homes (of the wealthy) during the once-a-year purge where anything is legal for 12 hours in the middle of the night.
The idea is definitely clever, but the execution stalls about 10 minutes into the actual purge event. The motive for the 'villains' is weak and the payoff never feels satisfying because we never really put a face to the killers.
Without a look at the broader picture of why the government chooses to do this and who the certain 'levels' are that get exempt from being killed leave too many questions. Tighter scenes with snappier dialogue might have kept this on the rails a little longer.
This review of The Purge (2013) was written by Shannon R on 02 Aug 2014.
The Purge has generally received mixed reviews.
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