The Purge: Anarchy

The Purge: Anarchy

Rating 3.65/5.00
Story:👆
Plot:👆
Character/Acting:👆
Visual display: 👍
Direction:👆

SUMMARY
March 21st, 2023 marks another edition of the Purge in the United States; only this time in the sequel to The Purge (2013),The Purge: Anarchy, the main characters are not all merely seeking a hiding place; some are seeking more.

STORY
Anarchy‘s story is fairly “realistic” and developed, given the context of the movie. To start, the sequel takes the
into different settings in an unspecified city. Be they upscale suburban neighborhoods, ritzy venues, downtown, or the
projects, there is a significance to each area. Then, throughout Anarchy, we slowly begin to learn about each of the characters that form the group that we follow for the majority of the movie. Now, everything happens for a reason, and with Anarchy, it provides satiable explanations as to why the group is notably in harm’s way during the twelve-hour timespan from 7 pm to 7 am that the annual purge occurs.

The story is not so ridiculous as to be hard to relate to and empathize with the characters’ situations, which is really important for this kind of film to be successful. Additionally, even though the government “does not have a hand” in the purge, government intervention is more prevalent in Anarchy than the first Purge, as well as the clash in ideology between the wealthier and more politically powerful upper class and all other lower classes.

PLOT
While the movie may be called Anarchy, the sequence of events it follows is anything but, which is definitely a good note. Early on in Anarchy, the audience first learns about the main characters. Soon after, once conflict inevitably occurs, this action, eventually, brings them all together. From this point forward, the group acts as a sort of protective shield for each other, even though it is obvious who is leading the pack. During this time, they encounter several obstacles, all for the sake of trying to fulfill their all-important goals, which are not all the same. In the mix of all the action and drama, there are either two plot twists or, depending on your proclivity for detecting clues, one, as well.

Generally, what’s important for this film is that Anarchy  is not primarily about a group that is just out, during the purge, “trying to make it through the night”–they all have a reason for their exposure and implied, if not conspicuous, vulnerability to society at these darkest of hours.

CHARACTER/ACTING
Both the characters and the acting in Anarchy are above average. Sergeant (Frank Grillo), the mother Eva (Carmen Edojo), daughter Cali (Zoe Soul), and partners Shane (Zac Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez) all seem to be aware of their characters’ situations and personalities and play their roles well. It’s great to see the clash between the characters’ personalities and attitudes in response to all the scenarios they face together during the purge. Even when the group isn’t directly faced with a knife, bullet, or fist being heaved at them, there is tension within their “collective” due to the varying reasons they all remain together for the night.

The ups and downs of each of the characters, no matter how strong and independent each may, at times, seem is what also makes  Anarchy  enjoyable to watch. There are times where you may be opposed to a character’s actions and yet, later on, may root for this same character’s actions. That’s what good movies do: they allow the audience to empathize with the characters on screen.  Anarchy certainly gets this aspect of the film done correctly. Moreover, each individual and/or subgroup is passionate about achieving something during the purge, whether morally just or not, and will do whatever is in their power to attain their goal, no matter who’s time and energy they strike down in the process.

VISUAL DISPLAY
The visuals in  Anarchy  are effective at stirring emotions and sentiments one way or another concerning the purge and its true intentions. As in the first Purge, in Anarchy, the audience sees the facts concerning unemployment and crime rates since the purge went into effect along with what is and isn’t allowed during the purge. The deaths that are put on display in the streets and on camera, all the weapons in action, and the looks on the faces of the victims as well as the aggressors combine for powerful scenes in the movie and make for an impressive watch.

DIRECTION
Director James DeMonaco seems to have taken notes from some of the shortcomings in character development and actions, as well as logic since the first Purge released, to deliver an entertaining sequel. It is clear that more time is taken before, during, and even after the main action and climax of the film for character development, which is really what I like to see in a good movie. For example, key characters, such as Sergeant and Eva, take actions that while, not necessarily in line with their characters overall, are still realistic to see, given what each of them wants to achieve in cognizance of the purge.

The idea of a government-sanctioned purge and the guidelines that must be followed were and still continue to be an inevitable area of weakness for the first, as well, as this sequel, but DeMonaco at least does a better job at addressing them in terms of having worse-case scenarios appear in the movie and what happens when they do occur.

RECOMMENDATION
If you are even remotely still interested in seeing how “society” would act in light of a purge-type situation, I recommend you go see Anarchy. If you were iffy on seeing the first Purge, went to see it, and were not very impressed, I still think you should actually see Anarchy, to see how much it has improved from a year ago. Anarchy, in comparison to the first Purge, has a more developed and realistic story, a stronger plot, and the characters tend to make smarter decisions. Anarchy continues to become more and more interesting as it progresses and, near its climax and climax, it’s truly one ofthe more entertaining films I have seen this summer in these two phases. I am surprised by how much the Purge improved from last year and I believe you will be, more than likely, as well!

After Credits? Nope