Well, it's better than the first one...
That's about the best I can say about this film; it wasn't bad, which the first
one definitely was, but it's still disappointing, although not as much as the
original. Thankfully, we actually get to go outside for a change in this amped
up version of the Purge, but in the end when the sirens sound and the bloodshed
is over, I still left with a feeling that opportunities had been missed.
The
idea of the Purge is kind of intriguing, and the high-concept idea is the whole
reason people flocked to go see the low-budget Ethan Hawke, Lena Heady version,
but neither films seem to fully capitalize on this proposed scenario. The first
film does a lot of uninteresting world-building (what a relief that we aren't
forced to suffer through the same in this sequel) before turning into a
run-of-the-mill home invasion flick. In the sequel, the filmmakers decide to
toy with the idea of being stuck outside during the Purge, which admittedly
makes for a lot more fast-paced, and action-packed film.
However, the
characters are neither likable or smart, rather they are simply annoying, and
for the most part, rather useless. This does not include Frank Grillo's role,
of course, the bad ass of the movie, who (for some unknown reason) decides to
help only these specific four people caught outside on the worst of nights.
I'll be honest, I like Frank Grillo (he was great in Captain America 2) but his
character's main goal is rather cliche and ends in a confusing climax. That
being said, I want to see him in more action roles, maybe not always as the
lead, but he looks good kicking major ass on screen, that much I can't deny.
One part of the movie I did really enjoy has to do with the subtitle
"Anarchy." The poor and mistreated people, who are constantly being
targeted for these purges by the rich (read: white), rise up and form their own
army; the scene where they finally fight back and take revenge on the
bureaucrats by beating them at their own game is very satisfying. Sadly, the
movie doesn't focus enough on this and the whole political aspect is mostly
botched, with people constantly spitting out clearly canned nonsense about the
purge being their "American right." This is frustrating, because the
whole time I couldn't help but think that in better hands this whole franchise
could be so much more, however, at this rate, it's not even on the same level
as the Hunger Games, a film that makes a lot of the same points, but in a more
sophisticated manner.
-Ryan Maples
-Ryan Maples
Rating: 6.
No comments:
Post a Comment