Director: James DeMonaco.
Regrettably, I haven't seen the previous two purges as the premise sounded ludicrous so there'll be no comparison with the prequels, but I'm sure this can be reviewed as a stand alone film. What I do know is that all three films are written and directed by James DeMonaco and there's a hint something has gone on before with Frank Grillo's character but wasn't enough to make me wonder what was happening, instead I am intrigued to what went on before.
You get the gist of the main story simple enough but it's just such an unbelievable idea, however, having watched this it does make interesting cinema and reminds me of films like Judgment Night, The Warriors, The Crow and consoles games like Freedom Fighters and the more recent Tom Clancy's The Division, demonstrating the sadistic side of human nature.
Senator Roan, played by Elizabeth Mitchell, wants to make a change by ending the purge and bring down the powers behind it; which obviously puts her in the firing line by the nations blood-thirsty, murder-maniacs and tourist killers. An attempted assassination turns into a run for survival with Grillo and a few other peaceful sympathisers.
There's good tension, fast-paced action and was actually better than expected. I enjoyed the film for its dreamy illuminated pieces, costumes and action. Though there's a couple of jumpy scenes and to what some might consider disturbing, I wouldn't go as far to say it's all out horror but a dark thriller, yes.
The whole cast perform well enough, and there is a good character balance between Bubba Blue Mykelti Williamson and the main leads; but I felt there was a lack of emotional investment and the script could have been better, even with the good, dramatic score from Purge regular Nathan Whitehead.
Still, it's not a bad film and it has urged me to watch the previous two.
"Good night, blue cheese!"
Running Time: 7
The Cast: 7
Performance: 7
Direction: 7
Story: 6
Script: 6
Creativity: 8
Soundtrack: 7
Job Description: 9
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
64% 6/10
