The Purge: Election Year, 2016.
Written and Directed by James DeMonaco.
Starring Frank Grillo, Elizabeth Mitchell, Mykelti Williamson, Joseph Julian Soria, Betty Gabriel, Terry Serpico, Edwin Hodge, and Kyle Secor.
SYNOPSIS:
Two years after choosing not to kill the man who killed his son, former police sergeant Barnes has become head of security for Senator Charlene Roan, the front runner in the next Presidential election due to her vow to eliminate the Purge.
Some movies are timely, and then there are others that cross the line into blunt, over exaggerated, in-your-face propaganda to fit a timely agenda. The Purge: Election Year, aside from releasing in a year when America will actually elect a new president in real life, features a female senator running for president (she even bears a striking resemblance to Hillary Clinton in some ways, most notably the blonde hair) campaigning with the goal in mind of becoming victorious and doing away with annual night where all crime is legal. There are also a bunch of crazed right-wing religious nut-jobs intent on staying in power and keeping the Purge alive so that they can continue weeding out poor people, immigrants, and essentially anyone that isn’t a white supremacist. Depending on your views and perception of the media, this is basically your Donald Trump of the movie.
Now, I agree that as a franchise The Purge was getting a little stale, but the answer certainly is not to take a concept that is completely ridiculous and not fleshed out enough already over two films, give it a shred of realism, and inject real life politics into the narrative. Much of the exposition in the first 15 minutes of The Purge: Election Year will most likely leave viewers scratching their heads wondering what they got roped into watching: CNN the movie or exploitative fun centered on gore and violence. There is no subtlety with the comparisons, but yes, the movie is for real with its plot.
Thankfully, The Purge: Election Year ditches its political roots early on to slowly band together a group of survivors teaming up for various different reasons, but mainly to protect Hillary Clinton… I mean Sen. Charlie. Aside from the poor acting throughout the film from almost everyone involved (Frank Grillo is still a badass though, finding himself in a sort of Olympus Has Fallen bodyguard situation this time around), it is kind of hard to even care about this senator. There’s also that pessimistic feeling that even given her back-story, nothing will come of anything should she get elected, because seriously, when the hell have politicians ever made good on their promises? Then again, this is a production from Hollywood.
Terrible characters aside, there is plenty of action and violence to be found in the proceedings, and some added world building to what this annual night of death is actually like. There are medics patrolling the streets, resistance bunkers, rogue fighters helping out civilians in peril, and more. Some will prefer the original film’s central focus on one family fending for their lives to survive until morning, but that doesn’t really allow for the concept of the event to be fully realized, so I do prefer that this third movie follows in the path of its sequel, expanding on these little details. What has gotten old however, are lingering shots of mentally disturbed people in freaky masks and Halloween costumes toting guns. It’s not scary anymore… at all, just humorously over the top.
It is also very odd that while the movie is attempting to promote causes like Black Lives Matter, the most significant African-American character in the film is a comic relief device that has such inspiring pieces of dialogue like “we’re all fried chicken” and no personality beyond stereotypes. He is relatively important to the action sequences, but there is a bit of backwards logic to his presentation as a character. Despite that, he does provide some laughs in a movie that is taking itself far too seriously in some instances, so this is also a positive.
Once the climax hits, you still won’t find yourself necessarily caring about anyone in the movie, and that’s disappointing. The Purge: Election Year is different enough from its predecessors and at the very least, a bloodthirsty violent experience that will entertain fans of the franchise, but major repetition is beginning to settle in. Last time I checked, murder wasn’t the only crime available to commit, so maybe it’s time to shift the franchise in a completely different direction during the fateful night to keep the series relevant.
Also, politics should probably be left out if the filmmakers only idea is the played out evil white supremacist Christian route, because you just know if one of these movies decides to depict a Muslim doing something bad… well I can hear the same Social Justice Warriors that trashed good mindless fun like London Has Fallen crying now.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder – Chief Film Critic of Flickering Myth. Check here for new reviews weekly, friend me on Facebook, follow my Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
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Originally published July 3, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
