The Purge: Anarchy - 29/07/2014
I always like to play the "Film Distribution Company Game" at the start of a film, trying to guess the company by their opening logo. For example, if you see the planet Earth and letters start appearing from the horizon you know it is going to be Universal, or the drums start and the spotlights shine it is 20th Century Fox. As I started to play the game, my heart sank. As the image passed over a sandy terrain I knew it was a Platinum Dunes film, Mr Michael Bay's company, the production company behind the Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre butchered remakes.
The Purge: Anarchy is set 12 months after the first film and uses the same premise. One night a year, for 12 hours, all crime is legal including murder. Due to this one night, crime is down, employment is up and poverty is almost eradicated. Is this down to The Purge or are there other factors causing the Rich to prosper and the poor to "disappear"?
When I heard about the first film and the story behind it I really liked the idea. When I saw the film, I thought it was terrible. So when the second film was announced I was a little apprehensive, then the trailers for it showed that it was not a home invasion film, but similar to an "Escape from New York" setting with 5 people struggling to survive whilst out on the streets during the annual event.
The group seems to go from one issue to another, each one with an escalating threat, but I didn't care for any of the group. There were quite a few plot points that didn't make much sense and the group seemed ot be the luckiest band of unlucky hero's ever. People just happened to turn up at the right moment to cause distractions like when a band of rebels turn up at just the right moment but their motives make no sense. The rebels are fighting against the rich who are benefiting from The Purge and start an all out offensive, but the "Rich" are behind bulletproof glass watching all their butlers and body guards getting mowed down by the rebels, surely they cannot be classed as the elite rich and must not be earning much more than minimum wage.
*****Spoiler Warning *****
One thing that really wound me up was the climax to the film, with 30 minutes left of The Purge, the main hero arrives at his goal for the night, to murder the man who killed his son in a drink driving accident. He has fought all night against mass murderers, rebels, and pretty much everything out to kill to reach this house, yet as there is only 30 mins to go and it is 6:30am there is no one left on the streets, there is peace and quiet.
He nonchalantly leaves the car and meanders across to his target who is happily asleep in his bed. If this is the case, why didn't he just wait till 6:30am, casually drive across town with no problems, walk into the house he had already rigged and take care of business, it would have been far easier!
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