Review of The Purge: Election Year (2016) by Leon B — 07 Jan 2017

Review:

With the amount of money that this franchise has made, they really need to hire some better actors and script writers because this film looked cheap and amateur. Like the previous movies in this franchise, this movie is based on Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), who is now protecting Senator Charlie Roan, (Elizabeth Mitchell), who is running for presidency and totally against the Purge. Also, Joe Dixon (Mykelti Williamson) is adamant about protecting his deli store during the Purge, with his fellow worker Marcos (J.J. Soria), and Laney Rucker (Betty Gabriel) who fights against the baddies while the Purge is active. During the Election Year, the new rules for this year's Purge is that government figures will not be protected, so Senator Charlie's life is at risk because there is a chance that she can win the presidency, which will go against the rich electors who want to keep the Purge alive. With Leo risking his life to protect Charlie, he turns to Joe for help after being caught in an impossible situation. They then go into hiding, with the help of some radical protesters who want to take down the rich electors, so Senator Charlie can become president, which will put a stop to the Purge. The only problem is that Charlie wants to win the election fairly, so she tries to stop the radicals from killing the rich government members, until she becomes kidnapped by the evil doers. Its full of intensity throughout and there are some gruesome scenes but it still felt like it needed some top actors. The whole Purge concept is original, and I can understand why it's a hit with movie goers but Frank Grillo is better in a cameo role, than the lead. With that aside, I did find the movie entertaining and I enjoyed the fight scene towards the end but I was expecting more from this third movie. If they decide to make a fourth film, they really need to take the Purge to another level. Watchable!

Round-Up:

This movie was written and directed by James DeMonaco, who brought you the previous Purge movies and Staten Island starring Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio. With Michael Bay in the production chair, James had the opportunity to push this franchise to the big league but he chose to stay safe by making a film, which is very close to the previous Purge films. Personally, I wasn't a big fan of the franchise because it all seemed a bit "Escape From New York" to me but it's obviously popular with certain audiences, judging by the profit at the box office. Anyway, it's definitely worth a watch but it's just not my cup of tea.

Budget: $10million.

Worldwide Gross: $118.5million.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/sci-fi/horrors, starring Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mykelti Williamson, J.J. Soria, Betty Gabriel, Terry Service and Edwin Hodge. 4/10.