The Purge: Anarchy [2 Discs] [Includes Digital Copy] [UltraViolet] [Blu-ray/DVD] [2014]

“The Purge” was a standard Hollywood thriller with a stellar premise. A good ten years into the future, unemployment is way down and violent crime is practically non-existent thanks to a yearly event called The Purge. For twelve hours every year (7PM-7AM, sometime in March), all crime including murder is legal. Emergency services are turned off. This tends to weed out the poor, the homeless, or “non-contributing members of society.” The first film focused on an affluent family whose home was broken into by others jealous of their wealth. It made for a serviceable home invasion thriller, but was truly a missed opportunity given the rich concept. “The Purge: Anarchy” feels like what the first film should have been. It’s not much different than “Crash,” where unrelated characters and stories come together and create a common bond among vastly different people. An unnamed hero (Frank Grillo) saves two sets of people, a working class mother and daughter, and a couple on the verge of separation, both of whom were unluckily thrown out on the streets in the midst of the annual purge. The unlikely gang has to work together to save each other from certain death. The concept is so interesting because of its plausibility. America is a country obsessed with violence, and everyone in this getting more and more angry with society. We blindly follow rules and regulations that the government swears are in our own best interest. “Anarchy” features a radical group of Youtube-bloggers whose mission is to expose the world to the truth that it is apparently too lazy to see. In this world, the very rich (the 1%, if you will) hold ‘auctions’ on purge night, where people bid on strangers on a stage, the highest bidder getting to kill whoever they bid on. How reprehensible is that? The scariest thing is that, if something like the purge ever came into reality, this is exactly how things would go. But I think, as American citizens, we’re really far away from anything like that being a reality. Right? The film is suspenseful and fast enough to forgive its stock characters and mid-grade dialogue. Details of the plot are paid heavier attention than dialogue, which I can live with. This one kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. While the home-invasion version of this story was fine, this is the story that should have been told the first go around. There’s civil unrest and abhorrent violence at every turn, but there’s also justice for the bad guys, and mercy for those who don’t deserve to die that way. If you haven’t seen the first “Purge”, you can still see this one without missing anything. In fact, if you haven’t seen the first film, I would recommend watching this one first. It’s much better and far more satisfying.

This is the second in the Purge series-Yes, I'm betting that there will be more-with the first one being from a year ago-2013- maybe it's going to be an annual event. For those unfamiliar with the premise; One day a year-I think it is March 21st-there is a new sanctioned government holiday where any crime is legal. All police stations and any other official law enforcement agencies are closed from 7:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. the next morning. During this time people can either purge-by committing any crime they want to, including murder-or if they do not want to participate, can barricade themselves indoors until it's over. The government claims that the purge has reduced crime because it gives people a chance to release all their pent up anger- So, I guess you better not make anyone mad during the rest of the year. The year is 2023 and the city is Los Angeles, with the purge in it's sixth year. Frank plays a former cop that wants to participate-he has a specific person he wants to purge. Zach and Kiele are a couple that get stranded outside, due to car problems at the wrong time-just as the purge is commencing. Carmen is a waitress that gets taken from her apartment building, along with her daughter, by some mysterious uniformed purgers. Frank comes along and saves Kiele, Zach, Carmen and her daughter but then has to run a gauntlet of purgers throughout the rest of the city. One of the new things to look for is the big 18 wheel trucks that go around snatching live people off the streets to sell to rich people-it seems that they are so rich, they can have people brought to them for purging, so that they do not even have to leave the comforts of their homes or clubs. I also liked the way people would say goodbye before the purge started; "Stay Safe!" It's rated "R" for the violence and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 43 minutes. I enjoyed it and would buy it on Blu-Ray.

I actually loved the first movie but I understand why some didn't - it was too compartmentalized. In the first, everything takes place in one home for the most part and while I found it to be an excellent idea and even execution, many did not. With the sequel, things are much more vast and we get to meet many people - victims as well as "purgers." It's rare that a sequel is better than the first but in this case, that is exactly what happens. There's more insight into the people doing the purging as well as the victims you meet along the way and the action is almost non-stop. Are there plot holes? Of course there are! However, they aren't so apparent that it ruins the movie. You can ask questions all night such as why people would be out a few hours before the Purge starts or what happens to the hospitals during this time but that only takes away from what is an enjoyable ride. I loved it so much that I do hope there is a third installment coming but not too many that they ruin the whole franchise. However, look at the Final Destination movies - they can come up with different scenarios each time and it works; I think it'll work in this one too.

I'll say what we all think - sequels are ,most of the time, decent/OK and VERY RARELY ever better than the first. There are some, such as Psycho II and How to Train Your Dragon II, but you can now add this one to that list. People who don't like this movie are those who think an incredible story with next-to-no action in it is best, but lets face it, every movie, no matter how good or bad, we like to see gunfire and fast cars and intense situations. For a sequel, Purge; Anarchy brings that and a (in my opinion, at least) better story to the table than it's predecessor and lots more action with the same amount of intense and suspense the first one had. Yes, there are some predictable moments, but only about 15% of those are recognizable, especially the ending; that WAS a shocker (won't say more, I promise) ;). Whether you are looking for a film to share with your friends or a bored night in, you can enjoy what this movie has to offer, considering the first and second only share purging, not characters, so it is independent. Hope you enjoy it, because I sure did.

Got this for my wife but i personally wasn't a fan of this. I thought it lost something taking the story out of a confined space. The idea of the first is that here is this family that thinks they are safe but then has to overcome the odds of intruders and disgruntled neighbors when their security system fails to protect them. This is just people running around the city. I get it bigger is what they were going for. I would have been more interested in this franchise if it followed the same characters throughout the series as opposed to the purge.

Anarchy gives us our second entry into the Purge universe, and Frank Grillo turns himself into a bonafide action hero with this role. In the first film we had an entire focus on one family trying to survive the purge night within their own home. This film takes it a step further and we see Frank as he ends up out at night in the heart of the downtown area while the purge is underway. I found this film far more entertaining than the previous entry, and it may just be my favorite of the four films.

Overall, the movie is a step up in the right direction. The pacing helped to make the film more enjoyable to watch and not be refined inside of a home. Watching the Sergeant and his group run through the streets to avoid maniacs was fun and tense at times. There is even a surprise appearance in the film if you pay attention closely. From an acting and narrative stance, there are still things to be improved on but from what I’ve seen it works with some exceptions. If you have seen the first Purge and disliked it you may not like this film; however for those who like the concept but were disappointed last year, you may feel differently this time around. An intense thrill ride that won’t let up.

Again like my review of "The Purge Election Year" I found this film to be what the Purge should have been. I didn't buy the Original as it truly lacked the entire concept of being able to do anything you want. The original turned out to be nothing more than a home invasion film. However I highly recommend the Purge Anarchy & Election year! Both of these films bring what the first film lacked entirely. Bothe had great visual quality on my 180" theater screen as well as perfect sound on my 7.1 surround sound system to include the Buttkicker Transducer system. All in all this was a fun film and I recommend it with Election year!