The Purge: Anarchy (2014) Dir: James DeMonaco
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After the horror phenomenon that was the 'The Purge', it was inevitable that sequels would follow. The first of those came just the next year, and was once again directed by James DeMonaco. I have only ever seen that first film, so it felt like as good a time as any to continue on in the franchise.
I think the action scenes were better than in the first film, for the most part, although the wider scope of everything meant that some of the focus was lost at various points. That said, I can't pretend like it didn't enjoy it - it was pretty entertaining the whole way through.
I liked that the film followed a different selection of people from the first film. It was one of the big questions left by the first film; 'what about the working class people during the purging?' The film also felt significantly larger than before, which, in turn, made the story feel larger.
That story still had plenty of issues, mind you. The characters involved weren't all that interesting, with the exception of one, and they kept going around in circles for what felt like half the film. A lot of the plot was build on convenience and circumstance. The second half got more into the absurd side of the franchise which was both good and bad.
Frank Grillo honestly gave one of the better performances I've seen from him. I'm not a huge fan of his usually, but this role clearly suited him, and he delivered on just about everything he needed to do. This was very much a solid go of it across the board from him - he was a decent protagonist.
The other key actors were a little more hit and miss, with Carmen Ejogo, Zoë Soul and Kiele Sanchez having the best of it. I was less enthused by, but not totally against, the performances of Zach Gilford, Michael Kenneth Williams and Jack Conley.
Overall, this was an entertaining action horror film, if not without its problems. I actually think there were some elements of it I enjoyed more than the first film. Which I prefer will probably depend on what my mood is at the time. Either way, this wasn't bad at all.
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