“Heh, so I thought I had a brilliant idea. I was really excited to see this movie, but it was being released while Mom was in town, and this is NOT one to take her to. But, some friends were planning a pub crawl in an area near one of my favorite theaters, and the timing worked out such that I could catch the flick afterwards and still get home at a decent time. What I failed to account for, was how much my tolerance has gone down in the past year or two. Let’s just say I missed most of The Purge because I was doing some purging of my own down the hall. Oops.
The second attempt went off without a hitch, tacking it on after Swiss Army Man. I know I complain about franchises extending beyond they need to, but this is one of the few that’s doing it right. When the first Purge introduced the concept, my main complaint was that it fully utilize what was a truly interesting set up. Then came Anarchy, and we had a larger scale impact and the beginnings of exploring the larger picture. Which brings us to Election Year, and writer/director James DeMonaco (who has been with us for the full ride) is finding his groove, and starting to look at the bigger picture of The Purge. I won’t go into spoilage details, but where things leave off, we’re primed to explore the next big questions that would logically come next.
Similar to last time, we’re focusing in a couple scattered people caught up in The Purge, whose storylines converge as they fight for survival. The difference is that the stakes are so much higher, because one of those storylines follows a Senator who is running for President on a platform of ending the annual purge. Of course, that does not sit well with those who live for their annual night of violence, and she becomes the top target. Conveniently for them (and our story) previous rules that exempted high ranking government officials have now been lifted, and she is as exposed and susceptible as the constituents she represents.
I think what I love most about these movies is the extremely visceral emotional reaction I feel watching them. The suspense of being caught in the open, within reach of those who would intend to do harm with reckless abandon and no consequences, and with no idea who to trust is palpably intense. I’ve been really stressed out and anxious lately and somehow found release in channeling that stress and anxiety into this film, which really heightened the experience, and somehow made me feel better for two hours.
Obviously, if you don’t do violence, stay the heck away from this. When telling my Mom of my plan “”Oh what movie are you gonna see?”” “”Nothing you’d have any interest in”” “”Something nasty?”” “”Basically two hours of pure violence”” “”Yeah, no, go ahead””. If you identify with the “”mother”” character in this conversation, then move along. If you more closely identify wit the “”daughter”” character, then by all means, purge away!
The Purge: Election Year – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/”