Review of The Purge: Anarchy (2014) by Optinuzprime — 04 Jun 2015

One year after the events of The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy begins. The movie follows three groups of individuals: a separating couple(Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez), a mother and daughter(Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul), and a heart-stricken father(Frank Grillo). Grillo is ready to purge and is out for vengeance when he stumbles across the other four characters needing rescue. He has to hold off on his mission to save this group of unfortunate people. They aren’t only trying to survive the civilians purging, but another group is purging as well. The group of five is forced to trust one another on a night when no one can be trusted.

The Purge: Anarchy is the sequel to the harshly criticized original, The Purge. The original had a great premise and unique story, but fell short with the backstory and the ending. The Purge: Anarchy had to step it up so it wouldn’t fall in the same footsteps as it’s previous installment, but it once again just wasn’t enough to set it apart from any other thriller. Some of the characters were amazing, Sergeant(Frank Grillo) and Cali(Zoe Soul) had a great connection throughout the entire movie. On the other hand, every other character seemed like fill ins. Other bodies to be brutally killed without the slightest of care. “Anarchy” did a better job of telling the backstory than the original, but it felt forced through the unknown group opposing the NFFA led by Carmelo(Michael Williams). The ending was rushed, but satisfying for the characters that survived. There were great action sequences throughout, especially with Frank Grillo at the helm. The movie’s tone was felt the entire way, and the moral of the story was accurately portrayed at the end.

This movie was fun to watch and very entertaining, but it felt like it needed more. The characters were predictable and uncared for, except for Sergeant(Frank Grillo). The story fell backseat to the action sequences, even though the last shootout was pretty impressive. A greater budget, but only a slight improvement over the original.