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In a future where people stop aging at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth. Here, Will Salas finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage - a connection that becomes an important part of the way against the system.
Jarrod and his pregnant girlfriend Elaine travel to Los Angeles to meet his old friend and successful entrepreneur Terry, and his wife Candice. Terry gives a party in his apartment for ... See full summary »
Directors:
Colin Strause,
Greg Strause
Stars:
Eric Balfour,
Scottie Thompson,
Brittany Daniel
A man wrongly convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage against the U.S. is offered his freedom if he can rescue the president's daughter from an outer space prison taken over by violent inmates.
Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.
When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier, and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organized under Xavier's former ally, Magneto.
An ancient struggle between two extraterrestrial clans, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, comes to Earth, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a young teenager.
The X-Men band together to find a mutant assassin who has made an attempt on the President's life, while the Mutant Academy is attacked by military forces.
Director:
Bryan Singer
Stars:
Patrick Stewart,
Hugh Jackman,
Ian McKellen
A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.
Director:
Frank Darabont
Stars:
Thomas Jane,
Marcia Gay Harden,
Laurie Holden
A shadowy freedom fighter known only as "V" uses terrorist tactics to fight against his totalitarian society. Upon rescuing a girl from the secret police, he also finds his best chance at having an ally.
In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity-including murder-becomes legal. The police can't be called. Hospitals suspend help. It's one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. On this night plagued by violence and an epidemic of crime, one family wrestles with the decision of who they will become when a stranger comes knocking. When an intruder breaks into James Sandin's (Ethan Hawke) gated community during the yearly lockdown, he begins a sequence of events that threatens to tear a family apart. Now, it is up to James, his wife, Mary (Lena Headey), and their kids to make it through the night without turning into the monsters from whom they hide. Written by
Universal Pictures
In the opening scenes, Mary is seen making dinner with Italian dressing on the counter. Soon after, Mary is seen reaching in the fridge after talking to Charlie and retrieves a bottle of the same Italian dressing. See more »
Quotes
Mary Sandin:
[siren to signal the end of the Purge]
Get the fuck out of my house.
See more »
"Clair de Lune"
Written by Claude Debussy
Arranged by Alfred Reed
Performed by Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.
Published by Klams Music & Co, Inc. See more »
A spic and span not-so-distant future (2022 to be precise) where unemployment is down and so is the crime rate. However, this pleasant depiction of society has a price; a night for a seemingly necessary catharsis where all emergency services suspend their aid and authority enabling all crimes in a 12 hour time slot to go unpunished, including murder. This night is called The Purge. Some people take to the streets and cause chaos; some take it as an opportunity to kill their boss or perhaps even their neighbours in the name of "cleansing themselves of the need to commit crime". The night of The Purge isn't without its detractors. The people and families who do not participate simply hideaway in their locked down house that for this one night will serve as a suburban defensive fortress.
Enter James Sandin, (Hawke) a successful security salesman who sells the gear to protect people's houses during the Purge including most of his neighbours. He's a family man who lives with his wife (Lena Headey) an anxious young son (Max Burkholder) and a rebellious daughter (Adelaide Kane). The family don't wish to indulge in the nights destructive activities, despite owning guns in the case of an emergency; they simply would like to stay in and watch a film whilst taking an occasional glance at the CCTV monitors. However, when James's son spots an injured man pleading for help on the monitors he sympathizes and disables the houses security to let the man in for safety. It turns out the man was being chased by a mob and they're going to stick around outside the house wearing creepy masks until the injured man is given back or "sacrificed". Will the Sandins give him up or will they make a stand against The Purge?
The Purge was directed by James DeMonaco whose writing credits include The Negotiator (1998) and the Assault On Precinct 13 remake (2005). Similarities between the film at hand and these previously made films show as they all have themes of a siege, people taking refuge, hostages and characters being isolated, Ethan Hawke also starred in Assault too. Although The Purge proposes a very interesting concept that is likely to make audience members wonder what they would do on such a night, it lacks certain credibility and needs much more exposition to develop its apparently foreseeable future. At a mere 85 minutes in a film where the action gets under way pretty fast, it's perhaps a little too trim. The Purge would have benefited if time was spent showing more of how it had 'supposedly' benefited society as a whole (think of a less extreme of the crimeless future presented in Demolition Man). Instead, we can only presume that a night of murderous mayhem is totally justified. Another problem is the futuristic setting. The Purge definitely looks modern but there just isn't enough of an advanced aesthetic to sell it as a diegesis of the future. One could argue that the film didn't really need to be futuristic, just maybe an alternate time. But whether audiences would buy that is another question.
Ethan Hawke is suitably apt in the lead role as head of the house but Lena Headey gives a great performance as the sweet housewife terrorized by the events. It's a complete overhaul from the villainous Ma-Ma she portrayed in 2012's underrated Dredd. Rhys Wakefield appears in the main antagonistic role; he definitely had the face for it baring a Patrick Bateman crossed with The Joker look but overall the character lacked subtlety and appeared brainwashed by the purge to an unbelievable extent. This is either the result of bad characterisation or just little exposition regarding the effects of the purge.
Ultimately, The Purge bares glaring similarities to Assault On Precinct 13 and is a series of shock action moments; some genuinely work (a brutal scrap in a games room) but others mostly coming off trite and ineffective (how many times can a main character be in jeopardy before another saves them right before the final blow?). It's definitely an interesting premise that says a lot about the world we live in today, but just not executed to a credible effect and often features many lapses in logic. Overall, these aspects make the film a slight disappointment but not a total failure.
23 of 37 people found this review helpful.
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A spic and span not-so-distant future (2022 to be precise) where unemployment is down and so is the crime rate. However, this pleasant depiction of society has a price; a night for a seemingly necessary catharsis where all emergency services suspend their aid and authority enabling all crimes in a 12 hour time slot to go unpunished, including murder. This night is called The Purge. Some people take to the streets and cause chaos; some take it as an opportunity to kill their boss or perhaps even their neighbours in the name of "cleansing themselves of the need to commit crime". The night of The Purge isn't without its detractors. The people and families who do not participate simply hideaway in their locked down house that for this one night will serve as a suburban defensive fortress.
Enter James Sandin, (Hawke) a successful security salesman who sells the gear to protect people's houses during the Purge including most of his neighbours. He's a family man who lives with his wife (Lena Headey) an anxious young son (Max Burkholder) and a rebellious daughter (Adelaide Kane). The family don't wish to indulge in the nights destructive activities, despite owning guns in the case of an emergency; they simply would like to stay in and watch a film whilst taking an occasional glance at the CCTV monitors. However, when James's son spots an injured man pleading for help on the monitors he sympathizes and disables the houses security to let the man in for safety. It turns out the man was being chased by a mob and they're going to stick around outside the house wearing creepy masks until the injured man is given back or "sacrificed". Will the Sandins give him up or will they make a stand against The Purge?
The Purge was directed by James DeMonaco whose writing credits include The Negotiator (1998) and the Assault On Precinct 13 remake (2005). Similarities between the film at hand and these previously made films show as they all have themes of a siege, people taking refuge, hostages and characters being isolated, Ethan Hawke also starred in Assault too. Although The Purge proposes a very interesting concept that is likely to make audience members wonder what they would do on such a night, it lacks certain credibility and needs much more exposition to develop its apparently foreseeable future. At a mere 85 minutes in a film where the action gets under way pretty fast, it's perhaps a little too trim. The Purge would have benefited if time was spent showing more of how it had 'supposedly' benefited society as a whole (think of a less extreme of the crimeless future presented in Demolition Man). Instead, we can only presume that a night of murderous mayhem is totally justified. Another problem is the futuristic setting. The Purge definitely looks modern but there just isn't enough of an advanced aesthetic to sell it as a diegesis of the future. One could argue that the film didn't really need to be futuristic, just maybe an alternate time. But whether audiences would buy that is another question.
Ethan Hawke is suitably apt in the lead role as head of the house but Lena Headey gives a great performance as the sweet housewife terrorized by the events. It's a complete overhaul from the villainous Ma-Ma she portrayed in 2012's underrated Dredd. Rhys Wakefield appears in the main antagonistic role; he definitely had the face for it baring a Patrick Bateman crossed with The Joker look but overall the character lacked subtlety and appeared brainwashed by the purge to an unbelievable extent. This is either the result of bad characterisation or just little exposition regarding the effects of the purge.
Ultimately, The Purge bares glaring similarities to Assault On Precinct 13 and is a series of shock action moments; some genuinely work (a brutal scrap in a games room) but others mostly coming off trite and ineffective (how many times can a main character be in jeopardy before another saves them right before the final blow?). It's definitely an interesting premise that says a lot about the world we live in today, but just not executed to a credible effect and often features many lapses in logic. Overall, these aspects make the film a slight disappointment but not a total failure.