Plot Details: This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Stay Safe
Plot Overview
“The Purge” 2013—see my review on epinions.com —introduced us to America in the near future after its New Founding Fathers (NFFA) had instituted their scary solution to an “epidemic of crime.” “The answer was The Purge,” a “godforsaken holiday” on which all sanctions against crime (including murder) are suspended for a half-day from 7 pm, March 21, till 7 am, March 22, in order to let the criminally inclined get it out of their system. “The Purge: Anarchy” (2014) is the sequel set in 2023. The earlier one concerned a home invasion; this one takes it to the streets of L.A. on Purge Night: kind of an out of the frying pan, into the fire.
In anticipation of the big night, Sergeant Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) gears up and takes off in his lightly armored Ford Mustang to extract homemade vengeance on the man who'd killed his son in a drunken driving accident he skated on. He is loaded for bear. I'm going to call him the boy scout because he exemplifies their motto: "Be Prepared."
Hot waitress Eva Sanchez (Carmen Ejogo) is used to being hit on and is used to rebuffing advances. She declines unsolicited offers for “protection” and goes home to a quiet evening with her daughter Cali (Zoë Soul) and father Papa Rico (John Beasley). Her papa, though, is sick and aged, while her lecherous neighbor Diego's (Noel Guliemi) guard duty is more like a fox guarding the henhouse. I'm going to call her EVA in the sense of extra-vehicular activity; it's doubtful she'll be allowed to stay safe at home.
Young married couple Shane (Zach Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez) are driving to Shane's sister's and debating whether to tell her they're about to separate. Once said it will seem so final. They are waylaid and their vehicle sabotaged forcing them to flee on foot. Since the vernal equinox is a change from winter to spring, and their lives are destined to change this day regardless, I'll refer to them as the Zodiac couple.
If you thought 1984 was bad with Big Brother watching you, get a load of Big Daddy (Jack Conley) in 2023. He's got all the surveillance of the former augmented by a fleet of three eighteen-wheelers with troops and guns, and Eva is on their hit list. This girl just does not want to go to Big Daddy, though, and by chance the boy scout comes along debating with himself whether to do a good deed. So it's out of the frying pan and into the fire for them, and when they are joined by the Zodiac couple, more changes are in the stars and the night is still young.
Ideology
“Anarchy” portrays such a degenerate society that we must resort to the last two books of the Bible coming down on evil to cover it. Basically, the purgers are murderers like Cain, some of them turn a profit on blood like Balaam, and they've trounced the country's historical authority like Core; see Jude 1:11.
A
title at the start informs us that unemployment is below 5%,
crime is virtually nonexistent, and poverty is vanishing. Sounds good
for society, cf. Rev. 2:18-19. Nevertheless,
they put up with "Jezebel" a mistress of ceremonies at a paid hunt
who nullifies God's command: "Thou shalt not kill," cf. Rev. 2:20.
They were given a year since the last Purge to change their ways,
but they didn't, cf. Rev. 2:21. We might expect those rich
to get herded together for a taste of their own medicine (“Change
only comes when their own blood spills”), cf. Rev. 2:22.
An appearance by resistance leader Carmelo (Michael K. Williams) a
generic black avenging angel à la Jude 1:14-15, here with his troops could
well tally up some corpses of the Purge promoters rather than of the
poor and helpless victims, (Rev. 2:23a) “And I will kill her
children with death.”
Production Values
“The Purge: Anarchy” (2014) was directed by James DeMonaco who also wrote its screenplay. It stars Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul and Michael K. Williams. The acting parts weren't challenging, consisting mostly of appearing frightened at appropriate times, which they all pulled off. Frank Grillo as a sergeant was the most intense character, and he quit himself well in the role. All things being equal, expect another sequel.
Review Conclusion w/ Consumer Recommendation
The Purge 2 was a definite improvement over last year's “Purge,” but I think anarchy was a bit of a misnomer, because the individual groups and family groups all seemed organized after their own fashions, just at odds with each other. There were a lot more good action scenes in this one than in the first. For a scary action movie, this one is great.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Edge of your seat action-packed. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall product rating: Four stars out of five.
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