August 01st, 2014

The first installment of The Purge had a more simple setting. Setting in the idea of this day where anything you want to do is legal. The movie was well done but James DeMonaco’s message seemed to get muddled in with some of the “oohs and ahs” of the project. The idea in Purge is that not everyone wants to join in on the Purge however, in The Purge the setting was in an upper class neighborhood. In the end neighbor turned against neighbor and muddled the message. Anarchy revisits the message is back with a vengeance. In Anarchy you see that people don’t want to join in on the Purge. The characters, for the most part would rather stay in with family and be safe. This movie is the perfect sequel, wrapping up loose ends from the ideas of the first Purge and leaving you craving more Purge! I give the film an 8 out of 10.

***************Spoiler Alert******************************

Anarchy starts out with your typical meeting of the cast of characters. Each one is introduced and the audience is brought into the reasoning why they would be out during the Purge, or for some and idea why. As the day pulls in, the audience can start to see they dynamics of family and values as DeMonaco set up in the first. He begins to visit his message early. The audience can see the working class really trying to make it. Most of America wants to get away and be left alone. DeMonaco touches on some vital political stances and doesn’t shy away with the idea of the cost of medication to stay alive, with the idea that people are generally good and just want to survive, and with the idea that if you give people the idea that they can do what they want they can be corrupted, but majority are not.

Anarchy seems to be a jumping platform for a trilogy. The creation of the character Carmelo and his revolution against the classist members of the new government propels a deeper more complicated story. He is a great mixture of Malcolm X and Carl Marx leading his people to victory against the idea of the Purge and that the government, which is ran by corporations, are sending out death trucks to kill the poor. This idea about revolution has been a debate in the US for sometime now and it has been spurred into other franchises such as The Hunger Games and the Divergence movies. However, The Purge is the adult version without the forced love story of two teenagers who barely know each other.

The film follows our heroes through their journey in the city to find safety. From a low income apartment building to a higher income apartment complex, that was attacked because our heroes were in it, all the way to an auction ran by the rich who believe that it is there right to buy another human being and hunt them down in a laser tag arena, minus the laser tag plus the most horrible weapons you can think of, via “The Most Dangerous Game” scenario. You are by this point wondering when Carmelo is coming into play, you’ve only scene his Youtube videos so far, then right when all hope is lost and we lose another hero, Carmelo bursts through the door with an iconic line that I will forever be in love with, “IT’S TIME TO DIE RICH BITCHES!!”

After your blood is pumping for revenge against the rich, you find that our hero known as Sergeant has been out for his little boys killer. My heart sank as he rushed into the bedroom and held the man who killed his son down with a knife. There are only five minutes left of the purge and we the audience thinks once again vengeance and anger will end the movie. The screen goes blank. We see Sergeant exit the house and he’s shot by the hillbilly looking truck driver who was dead set on getting him in the movie. BUT  WAIT!!! Sarge didn’t kill his sons killer and in a weird payback the Sarge is saved by his son’s slayer. The Purge ends and Sarge makes it to the hospital. I am left with hope in humanity and wanting to see a third Purge: Revolution!