Directors: James DeMonaco
Writer: James DeMonaco
Cast: Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez
Studio: Universal
“The Purge: Anarchy” opens with three stories about those that take advantage of The Purge. Some were caught outside by accident, others went wild and others went out for vengeance. The characters move in typical manner, but the opportunities for blood increase dramatically. If you’ve seen the trailers, then you already know the individual personalities. There’s a guy and girl that panic, there’s Frank Grillo auditioning for The Punisher and then there’s a third group that I can’t remember. It might have been a street food vendor. I think he sold Churros. Am I remembering that correctly or do I just want a Churro? You know who has good Churros? That would be Costco. I’d hide at the Costco during the Purge.
The problem with sequels is that they feel this unnecessary pressure to try and top everything that happened in the first movie. You don’t have to top a damn thing. What you have to do is further the story, while contributing individual elements that make this film stand on its own in that same world. The stuff with Frank Grillo worked in that respect, even though it petered out at the end. That being said, everyone else in the film felt like they could’ve been a part of another movie. It’s not ideal, but at least it tried to do something different.
Frank Grillo is the star of the film, as he continues to prove that he needs to be headlining more movies. Whenever Grillo wasn’t onscreen, I found myself asking what happened to Grillo and where can we get more Grillo? Other characters should’ve frequently asked about him and worked him back into the conversation. I wish that Grillo would’ve got a higher bodycount in the movie. Maybe they’re saving that for the sequel?
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!