I think the first was a bit better. Still this was very entertaining and had some really cool sequences. All of the characters were dumb as fuck (and the acting was bad) though and I detested Carmen Ejogo's daughter and wanted her to die These movies are just fun popcorn entertainment - I had a blast. B

I strongly suspect fast-turnaround sequel The Purge: Anarchy closely resembles the film audiences hoped to see last year when they rushed to the first, which teased a tantalizing science-fiction concept—a sinister future in which America has government-sanctioned night every year in which crime, including murder, is legal—but focused squarely on a single home invasion. Now, the night of the Purge has come around again, and the brutal action explodes onto the streets of the city. As a result, the film recalls the early cinema of John Carpenter, George Miller, and Walter Hill. It is a film of machine guns and muscle cars and urban desolation. A film of colorful, sadistic gangs ruling the roads and a stoic, shotgun-toting hero with a past who has their number.

This is an unexpectedly entertaining follow-up, one much more satisfying than what came before. The aforementioned hero, a retired military man who sets out on the most dangerous night of the year to avenge a past tragedy, is rather perfectly played by a charismatic, hard-edged, slightly unshaven Frank Grillo, an actor with an inherent and magnetic masculinity. The sequel also further emphasizes the franchise's quote-unquote political and social conscience, including a fear of the perverse impulses hiding behind the mahogany doors of the ultra-wealthy and the ways in which they may be visited upon the ailing, the poor, and the otherwise marginalized. Its activist soul is often reactionary and simplistic, but the film is also modestly charming as blood-drenched, extra-earnest agitprop, particularly when the protagonists find themselves on sale before a crowd of patrician butchers at a glamorous auction. There are still significant flaws within the fabric of The Purge: Anarchy—let's face it, the very idea of the Purge will always raise frustrating logistical questions—but it is without a doubt an improved product: a bit smarter and far, far more propulsive.

B

THE PURGE ANARCHY

There's one main thing both 1 and 2 have in common besides being about the Purge. Both have annoying as hell daughters in the film. I just learned the girl was also in Prisoners in a minor role as a not so annoying daughter. Anyway, I couldn't stand that girl and she really took me out of the film almost everytime she spoke after they met up with their protector. As far as the general plot, I thought it was generally okay. I liked the setup though it did take awhile to get to any action. I wondered why the couple waited so long to get where they were going on Purge day. Those folks rushing to get home didn't make much sense. Why not get a hotel room or something. The underground anti purge movement was distracting as well. No one really stood out since there weren't any big name folks in the film. They probably should have gone the route of continuing the story from the first film with the wife going after her crazed fake neighbors. Very disappointing film.

Grade - C

It does strain credulity people would be out grocery shopping an hour before the start of the Purge, true. But I feel this film does a very solid job in general building a sense of dread as the start of the night approaches.

I thought it was pretty bad, honestly. I didn't really enjoy the first one either but it was watchable. Still, I was hoping this would be a bit better but I still "enjoy" the first one more. The set up here wasn't anything special and I didn't feel like I got to know any of the characters. I didn't feel that sense of dread that I got in the first one before the commencement took place. I didn't care about any of the characters at all and thought the entire thing was just so predictable. Also, I know you need to check your brain in at the door for these movies but there were just way too many chance coincidences that happened within such a short timespan. The movie did look good though and it had a good score. It just wasn't as entertaining as it should have been.

Definitely will not be seeing the third Purge in theaters.

C-

It was better than I expected and better than the first.

I kinda enjoyed the first one more. They're both dumb but I thought the atmosphere of the first one was a lot more interesting than whatever was going on here.

Never saw the first, but this wastes a pretty cool concept on uninteresting characters moving through a dull-ass storyline. Meh.

C-

After hearing so much good buzz on this I was definitely expecting more. I guess it's somewhat better than the first although like some have already said that movie did have a better atmosphere. Frank Grillo is easily the best thing about this flick. He was pretty much channeling his inner Punisher, and he has some badass moments, but the movie is dull and the side characters are annoying idiots.

I honestly didn't give a shit about anyone, and the movie probably would have been better if it just solely focused on Grillo's character being a vigilante and maybe eventually joining up with rebels. I don't know.

Also, it's pretty hilarious how Michael Kenneth Williams only has about four minutes of screen time towards the very end, and gives the worst performance in the entire movie. I mean seriously, that shit was so random LOL!.

This may not be saying much, but The Purge: Anarchy is a much-improved sequel that on more than a few instances rises above its incredibly stupid concept and works as guilty pleasure popcorn fun. The concept of the purge is still too large of a hurdle for the film to clear. Even with some of the most glaring problems from the first film addressed, there are still so many holes in the logic surrounding the purge, and writer-director James DeMonaco continues to approach it with about as much seriousness as he did the first time around. However, by expanding the scope of the action, he has switched out from a lame standard order home invasion flick to a post-apocalyptic action movie that gains some steam once it lets its characters loose in the lawless streets to fend for themselves. As with its predecessor, the film could benefit from taking a more tongue-in-cheek approach to its absurd concept, but the shift in setting and genre is a welcome move in the right direction.

C+

The Purge: Anarchy

Quite a let down, I must say. It totally failed to communicate the seriousness of the situation among the central characters. Their lives were at stake and could have been brutally battered to death at any minute and they made some idiotic mistakes. The filmmakers really did a bad job. They made everyone get out alive and everything worked out in the end. The racist undertones were also not appreciated.

The main thing was that they wasted the two scariest characters. You have skeleton face and Valentine-mask "God" guy looking all scary and shit, and they're just going around putting into the back of their van. WHAT???! Have them kill people! Waste of great visual characters. Not as good as The Purge.

C-

So crazy impressed with this. Cannot believe what a vast improvement this was over the original. Bigger, bolder, and more ambitious than its predecessor. The ideas presented are still very flawed but if you don't over-think the concept this is an immensely entertaining survival action/thriller. The increase in budget really shows. Did not expect I would get as much enjoyment out of this one as I did. Frank Grillo was awesome. A total bad-ass. Can the eventual third be this much fun? I sure hope so.

8/10 (A-)