The Purge: Election Year

Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell) is running for President on a platform of ending the Purge. Her family was massacred during the Purge in her childhood. The NFFA revokes the Purge rule protecting high rank government officials but Roan refuses to add security. Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) from the previous movie is now her head of security. Store owner Joe Dixon (Mykelti Williamson) is informed that his Purge insurance has been canceled. Roan is betrayed and escapes with Barnes into the streets where they are hunted.

This tries to add politics to what started out as a simple horror franchise. It's making social commentary. The world of the Purge continuous to be expanded. There are fun Purge visuals. There are some fun action although I wouldn't call it a scary horror. It goes down some weirder paths which is interesting. One thing holding it back is that there is only one possible good ending and the movie would ignore it to its detriment. Roan has to die.

Am another person who didn't care at all for 'The Purge' from 2013. It wasn't completely unwatchable with a couple of reasonable performances and decent production values but was so tension and suspense-free and full of irritating characters, illogical character behaviours, a dull pace, a cheesy script and tired clichés.

Had seen and heard numerous times people saying that 'The Purge: Anarchy' was a much better film. Will admit that due to disliking 'The Purge' so much, part of me was very unsure as to whether to watch 'The Purge: Anarchy' and very nearly didn't watch it. Seeing it, it was indeed a much better film. Decided too to see 'The Purge: Election Year' to see whether the series would continue to improve or whether it would wear thin. Having watched it, 'The Purge: Election Year' is far from great and has major flaws but it was not a bad watch, as far as 'The Purge' films go it is an easy second best, the best being 'Anarchy'.

Visually, the slick and gritty look suits the film well and the effects and such are not as sloppy as before. It's ominously and not overbearingly scored and assured enough, while boasting enough, though with much room for more, fun, tension, eeriness and shocks. 'The Purge: Election Year' starts quite well and elaborates upon what happens before and approaches it from a different angle instead of being a re-hash.

Frank Grillo is a fully committed lead, although his character was far better written in 'Anarchy'. Elizabeth Mitchell matches him with dignity and professionalism and their chemistry gives some urgency and heart. Mykelti Williamson is good fun.

However, the story execution doesn't feel fresh, with tired clichés, very variable attempts at twists and too many parts that don't ring true and not always plausible. The character development is still wafer thin, with the villains being ciphers that are not threating and actually being pretty stupid and a few characters don't serve much point. None of the characters are quite as annoying as those in 'The Purge', but the questionable and illogical decision making and behaviours remain still.

Dialogue continues to be rather weak, lacking tautness and being awkward and silly, complete with rather heavy-handed and over-emphasised political elements. Would have liked more tension and suspense, while they are here there is not enough of either, and tighter pacing would have helped, the middle act does drag.

Overall, not much special but has its moments. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Oh my God, I can't believe it. How Jim De Monaco could do such a garbage junk? How can this director, who gave us STATEN ISLAND seven years ago, how can he make this ? This crap is full of clichés and awful performances and also so foreseeable script. The kind of garbage stuff that monitors you to think in such a way that it is absolutely unbearable. Even if, from the side of me, I also hate all those hypocritical politicians who rule our cities and states, but the way it is shown is no way the best one to talk about it. This feature was made for brainless audiences who crave for gratuitous violence, meaningless story which leads to anywhere. Please, for your mental welfare, avoid this junk movie at all costs.

2016. A presidential election year. Both in reality and on the big screen – with high stakes AND what seems to be an increasing amount of insanity working its way into the process. 2016 marks the second time the GOP is lead by a candidate mainly known for his accomplishments as a businessman, the third time with a candidate named Clinton heading the Democratic ticket – and the third time for a story about an annual 12-hour period at the beginning of spring during which all crime is legal – even murder.

As many questions as have been raised by the first two iterations in "The Purge" film franchise, writer-director James DeMonaco (accomplishing the rare feat of creating three movies in a single horror series) manages to find even more questions to ask in "The Purge: Election Year" (R, 1:45). For example, might such an annual event attract foreigners who would like to get away with murder for a night? (Yes. They're called "murder tourists".) Does insurance cover property against purge night destruction? (Yes. But they might hike up their rates at the last minute, even beyond what people can pay.) Is it possible for a politician to turn back the clock and end the annual purge? (Maybe. But it wouldn't be easy.) Senator Charlene "Charlie" Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell) is an Independent candidate for President running primarily on a promise to end the purge, mainly because of seeing her entire family murdered on an earlier purge night. She has the backing of a guy who actually has her back, her head of security, former police Sergeant Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), who was stopped from nearly carrying out a revenge killing on a more recent purge night and now hates the brutal tradition almost as much as Roan does. Although there is a growing anti-purge movement, including a group led by Dante Bishop (Edwin Hodge, the only actor to appear in all three of the films), there are a lot of powerful people who want the purge to go on.

On this purge night, the usual ban against killing high-ranking politicians is lifted. That puts Roan's life in danger. It also exposes the NFFA (New Founding Fathers of America) to being targeted themselves, but they have the money to hire plenty of security with plenty of firepower. When the NFFA turn their considerable resources against Roan, she finds herself on the run in the streets of Washington DC, trying to survive the night so she can (hopefully) win the election and make this the last purge night ever.

As the usual purge mayhem unfolds around them, Barnes and Roan are saved from certain death by deli owner Joe Dixon (Mykelti Williamson) and his loyal employee, Marcos (Joseph Julian Soria). With their help and the help of purge night triage vehicle operator Laney "Little Death" Rucker (Betty Gabriel) and (later in the movie) Bishop and his followers, Roan and Barnes just might survive the night… but it won't be easy and it may cost the lives of some of the main characters. NFFA leaders like Caleb Warrens (Raymond J. Berry) and Minister Edwige Owens (Kyle Secor), Roan's opponent in the presidential election, have money, influence, superior technology and ruthless thugs like Earl Danzinger (Terry Serpico, looking like an evil Anthony Michael Hall) to help bring their nefarious plans to fruition.

Like the pervious "Purge" movies, "The Purge: Election Day" is surprisingly entertaining and deep. The first film explored the idea of income and class inequality taken to extremes, but it just felt like an interesting one-off. A 2014 sequel added more action – and made the franchise's theme more obvious (especially late in the movie), while adding the subplot of growing popular resistance to the purge. The third film throws its message right in the audience's face, but what it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in even better story-telling. The plot is multi-faceted, but not overly complicated, and features some interesting twists along the way. Some of the characters are over-acted, parts of the script are unnecessarily crude and there's a distracting amount of blood and gore, but "The Purge: Election Day" gives Movie Fans plenty of engaging action and biting social commentary. "B"

I would've expected James DeMonaco to go out guns blazing, but The Purge: Election Year was an unfortunate, watered down shade of its predecessors. The elevated carnage the sequel earned praise for absolutely stagnates in this blunder of a film, as the violence felt staged & uninspired. In place of the hardcore & horrifying antics, are spoiled brats & corny foreigners playing dress up, whose inept acting earned chuckles instead of intrigue.

Sadly, where the horror fails, the writing follows suit. I concur, The Purge: Election Year's socio-political premise is sensible, but its plot pieces are as generic as it comes, wasting away the surprising emotional heft Anarchy was praised for. The poor writing extends to its under developed characters as well, leading to nonchalant responses to majority of the film's turnouts.

James DeMonaco should've called it quits after Anarchy, plain & simple. The glaring staleness of this installment, that promised a riveting closure to the well conceptualized franchise, is then a mere ineffective diversion. Sad.