THE PURGE: ANARCHY (2014) **
The politics behind The Purge have always been murky to me. In The Purge: Anarchy, they’re even murkier. We’re supposed to believe that unemployment is only 5% just because one night out of the year people can dress up like members of Slipknot and kill each other. How does that even help you on a job interview? And are we really supposed to buy that the crime rate would virtually disappear because psychos, hooligans, and morons get all their ya-yas out on Purge Night? I honestly don’t think deranged minds could keep their bloodlust at bay for a whole year.
There’s an unbelievable plot twist at the end when we learn that the government has found that less and less people are purging, so agents have to go around in bread trucks wearing body armor killing people. If it is true, and less people are purging, wouldn’t all those low crime and unemployment statistics suggest that all the dregs of society have already been killed off? And because of that, maybe you should pack it in and call it a day on that whole Purge thing? I understand; it’s the government we are talking about here. Once they get their hands on something, they don’t let go. Still, that bit of information doesn’t jibe with everything else in the film; particularly the Black Panther wannabes that are trying to rise up against the rich folks.
We also learn in this one that The Purge has become something of a holiday. It’s kind of like Halloween. People go door to door dressed up in stupid costumes and act like hoodlums, but there is less candy involved.
If we’re calling The Purge a holiday like Christmas, it’s going to get even murkier. I don’t know about you, but in my household we were always allowed to open up one present on Christmas Eve. So if that’s the case, does that mean you can commit one murder the night before The Purge and it’s okay?
Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I have to say that The Purge: Anarchy is a marginally better film than the original. That’s mostly because it’s a survival flick with a touch of Death Wish thrown in for good measure. Frank (The Grey) Grillo stars as a guy who rides around the city in his armor-plated muscle car looking for the man who killed his son. Along the way, he rescues four people who had the misfortune to be unprepared on Purge Night. Together, they try to get out of the city and pray dawn comes quickly.
There are some good moments sprinkled here and there. I liked the part where a bunch of rich people shanghaied our heroes and held a silent auction for the privilege of killing them. They are then dumped into what looks like an old Photon range where the rich folks hunt them down The Most Dangerous Game-style. Had the filmmakers milked this scene for all it was worth, the flick might’ve worked.
If anything, this is a good vehicle for Grillo. He’s easily the best thing about the flick. If they ever decide to do a Netflix TV show of The Punisher, I think they found their guy. He shows that he can wear black and mow down scum with the best of them. Too bad the head-scratching politics of the whole thing all but derail the narrative.
