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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
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THE PURGE

Movie review by David Blackwell

 

85 minutes, Rated R

STUDIO:  Universal Pictures/ Platinum Dunes/ Blumhouse Productions

Theatrical RELEASE DATE:  6-7-2013

 

STARRING Ethan Hawke, Lena Heady, Adelaide Kane, Max Burkholder

WRITTEN and DIRECTED by James DeMonaco

It is the United States of America 2022 and the government has enacted a day called The Purge where for 12 hours on one day a year that people can do any crime they want and not be guilty for it to purge all of their bad desires.   James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) works for a company that sells security systems to keep people safe during THE PURGE.  He arrives home (which is in a gated community) in time to have dinner with his wife Mary (Lena Heady) and their two teenage kids Charlie (Max Burkholder) and Zoey (Adelaide Kane) before locking down for the night at 7 pm when the Purge will begin.  During the night, Charlie sees a homeless black man running and wanting safety.  He lets him in and it attracts the attention of a group of Purgers lead by a nameless polite young stranger (Rhys Wakefield) who demands the Sandins’ release the homeless stranger of eth group will break in and hunt everyone.

 

THE PURGE starts with an interesting idea as it questions whether 12 hours of legal rape, murder, and theft would help a society with its crime problems or is it an immoral choice.   James sees it as an opportunity to sell as many security systems as possible while Mary reluctantly thinks The Purge has helped give unemployment and crime low.  Charlie thinks the Purge is wrong and he takes every chance he gets to help the stranger who is hiding in the house.  Then you have others who use the Purge as an excuse to kill, rape, and steal.   Half of the movie turns into a home invasion thriller as you focus on the family trying to survive the Purgers who break into the supposedly secure house.  

 

It is an intense movie as you think what side of the Purge you will be on.  I know I would stay out of the Purge and be against it.   If I was living in the USA such as the one shown in THE PURGE, I would be lying low and defending myself or take the opportunity to leave the country.   I don’t think something like the Purge would be a just solution.   It would be an excuse for the rich and the ones in power to control the population while the poor will be the ones who would be the biggest victims of The Purge.  The rich would be the worst ones of the bunch to use it as an excuse to harm others while the criminals will see it as a way to do bad things to others as revenge or defend their turf.  I want to see a sequel of THE PURGE explore how the Purge effects people in a big city from the people for it, against it, and the victims of the Purge.  THE PURGE has a thought provoking premise and works as a good thriller.  My only complaint is the villains aren't that well developed and come off as a little weak in the end.  The marketing people at Universal Pictures must be happy that the movie has already made back its money and more on the opening weekend.  I just hope a sequel will take the movie into a CRASH type of direction as you follow multiple characters in multiple stories during the course of the movie.

 

This movie review is (c)6-9-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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