American Nightmare 2: Anarchy

The 2013 movie "The Purge" left a bad taste in all of our mouths as nothing more than a pseudo-slasher with a hamfisted plot, poor pacing, and a desperate attempt at "horror." Upon seeing the first trailer for "The Purge: Anarchy," my first and most immediate thought was "we really don't need another one of these." The first film was self-contained and didn't leave any opening for a reasonable sequel. But after seeing a few more commercials and looking into it some more, I decided to give this film the benefit of the doubt and I am NOT disappointed.

The film stands on its own feet much better than the first film did, and mostly because of what it's going for. Instead of trying to be a Horror movie, it becomes a fantastic Thriller/Action film set in a pseudo-apocalyptic future about a group of people trying to survive on a night where it's all-out war on the streets.

A lot of themes are explored -- Human Nature, Fear, Anger, Revenge, Heroism -- in ways that many other movies don't really explore it. And more than that, every small detail is kept in mind throughout the film.

Compared to everything else I've seen so far this year, this is by far the best thriller film to come out. It holds its own and it has a message instead of just being a movie about wanton violence. The action scenes are done well, and the tension is enough to keep interest even in the low parts of the film. Every moment you think is safe leads directly into the next moment of pressure for the main characters, and you can't help but sympathize for the characters who (all but one) don't even want to be stuck out here on this horrid night.

I very highly recommend this film to anyone who likes thrillers or action films with a little bit of psychological horror thrown in.

And a little bit of a tip? Forget everything from the first film. "The Purge" doesn't set up or explain anything that this film doesn't, doesn't add anything to this film, and isn't even worth watching beforehand.

The Purge: Anarchy is a great film in its own right and it's worth watching. My only issue is that the first film couldn't have been more like this.

Much better could ever expect! Originally saw in the theater I just wasn't reviewing then, happily enjoying this glorious action/thriller with lots of great madness and creepy gestures. James DeManco's Purge films might not be appreciated much but Anarchy, Election Year and his writing for The Negotiator is so damn good! Such a great concept that is perfectly executed in this adaptation.

Here is how I see it. The second installment (to what promises to be a yearly occurrence) of the Purge was a lot better than the first. But it isn't because The Purge: Anarchy is a significant film. It's because Writer/Director James DeMonaco is finally able to incorporate the underlying theme of class hierarchy that was completely misguided in its predecessor.

The big mistake with the first film was making it a trite home invasion thriller. With Anarchy, we explore the outside world during the 6th annual Purge, and it proves, without a doubt, to be ten times more thrilling and suspenseful. We see the nut cases in freaky masks (one with GOD written on it) wielding their weapons of choice. We see the upper class citizens holding each others hands reciting the "New Founding Fathers" motto that feels like some satanic cult. In our seats, we feel that we have to look around all at times, because there could be a killer ahead or behind us.

There are three revolving stories of people who are entering the night. One is Eva and Cali, a waitress and her daughter. There is Shane and Liz, a crumbling couple with no killer instincts at all. And then there is Leo, the sergeant, the "kick ass and take names" guy. Leo is out to revenge Purge. The others find themselves wandering the street. Leo winds up having to protect them. Will his generosity effect his main goal? Can Leo really save everyone? Frank Gillo makes for a very convincing and likable hero. While we watch and the story unfolds, we learn that The Purge, and its purgers, aren't so much anarchic as they are regulated.

With it's unique premise the Purge is always able to separate itself from the average horror/thriller film. Most importantly, Anarchy is a step up because it realizes its potential to be truly scary from the realism of its "legal murder" concept; rather than just bludgeoning people left and right. Unlike the first film, your instinctive fascination with such a nightmare concept will multiply here, not diminish or turn into a laughing stock.

I can recommend Purge Anarchy. Not only does it save what looked to be a profitable franchise, but it is a decent film too.

As far as purges go, this was a fairly well developed storyline with decent acting. There was some forced dialogue and odd plot points, but on the whole a good movie. Frank Grillo killed it, he could save me any day.

I almost didn't bother with this sequel . The first movie was close but no cigar down to rather lazy and ill thought plotting and since this movie was also written and directed by James DeMonaco we'd be getting more of the same except this time with an inferior and unknown cast . That said one thing that really intrigued me was the large shift in positive votes . The first movie had an average vote of 5.6 while its sequel had an average vote of 6.5 along with many of the comments stating just how different it was from the original film , a film which incidentally could hardly have been called original itself

The only real criticism I can level at TPA is that it's rather derivative and owes a lot to Anabasis by Xenophon , a very old story that Walter Hill made a career out of reworking and which recent Brit thriller '71 made use of . A good story never grows old whether you're a Greek army trapped behind enemy lines in 400 BC or a young couple trapped in a city centre where the laws of the jungle are about to be enforced the dilemmas facing the protagonists remain the same

I had to double check a couple of times to check if there were two different writer/directors called James DeMonaco because I had hard task to believe the film maker who wasted so much potential in the first movie was the same one who crafted this heart stopping thriller . Everything wrong with THE PURGE is corrected here . Gone are the idiotic choices characters make and in their place are simple acts of misfortunes . Okay some bits seem a little contrived such as cars breaking down at the most inopportune moment but it's the same sort of cinematic convention you see in every /any thriller or horror movie . The characters are unlucky rather than out and out dumb and boy does misfortune have it in for these characters that you actually get to care about

Another massive improvement is that you can almost believe this scenario might take place one day . I say almost because it's something of a stretch thinking Pat Robertson might be American president but this would be his ideal Utopian view of America and TPA does play up to all the more extreme elements of an outsiders view of America , gun culture , red necks ,the radical Christian right , rabid nationalism and corporate greed where money can buy you absolutely anything , all summed up by a very effective montage sequence at the closing credits . The politics of the film are not subtle but are superbly well done . There's perhaps a danger of taking it all this too seriously but TPA does deserve some credit for bringing this to our attention and wears its heart on its sleeve as to what's wrong at the heart of America

And so ends one of these very rare films - a sequel that surpasses the original and by a wide margin too . Okay let's be honest and confess THE PURGE was no great shakes but TPA is one the most effective and thought provoking thrillers I've seen Hollywood produce in a very long time and after seeing THE PURGE I thought I'd never say this but I am really looking forward to THE PURGE 3 when it's released next year