It's hard not to love THE PURGE for all it's suspenseful and intelligent storytelling but the film does falter before hitting the finish line. That being said, it's not entirely a bad thing that it did.
In a nutshell, this reality is one where the USA has been reborn after a time of civil unrest. But to get to that stability and crime-free Utopia the so-called "new founding fathers" allows people to 'release the beast' once a year. This of course is called THE PURGE. Ethan Hawke is Jim Sandin, a security system salesman who made it big. He and his family plan on going through the Purge safe in their 'locked down' home but things just go south quickly.
Director James DeMonaco has a winner here with a thought provoking premise, a solid cast and lots and lots of supposedly scary visuals. Sadly the film falters due to a short running time, some missed opportunities and some kinks in the film making process. Case in point, it was never explained how Zoey's boyfriend snuck in. What part of the story did he snuck in?
Ethan Hawke has aged. There's a difference between growing old and aging (with the latter better than the former). He was 'just OK' here in this film. Nothing really stellar. Playing a desperate father might be new to him.
Lena Headey on the other hand was great, especially her motivational change towards the end. She's suddenly channeling Sarah Connor, Queen Gorgo and Queen Cersei in her buttkicking mode by the time the Purge ends. Oh and did I mention that she IS STILL HOT?!?
Special props to Adelaide Kane here. She provides the younger, fresher eye candy in the film what with her abandoned racy scenes. I'd like to point out as well that she's been running around the house (and thusly being absent for majority of the movie) in a SCHOOL GIRL uniform.
And if you're a Power Rangers fan, you'd be happy to know that she was also part of POWER RANGERS RPM playing the role of villain Tenaya 7.
Another raving comment for the leader of the gang of teenagers who invaded the home of the Sandins. Actor Rhys Wakefield was spot on casting here. The dude might not have been a bloodthirsty killer but he could've been.
The dude's looks plus the character itself was just brilliant. Here we have a prepschool guy, probably goes home to his family for the Purge and then goes on and kill homeless dudes for fun. He's polite and a gentleman and with a drop of a hat, kills people that pisses him off. Sadly, it's never explored.
Again, that's what makes me frown with THE PURGE. It's got potential to fight the bigger suspense movies this year but a short TRT (total running time) and under developed storytelling drags it down instead of acting like rocket boosters.
Verdict: 8/10
Special thanks to SOLAR-UIP for the invites. THE PURGE opens JULY 31.
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