The Purge: Election Year (2016) [Blu-ray]
Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

It has been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night - the 12 hours of lawlessness. This year, the annual ritual comes at the eve of a heated presidential election with the nation deeply divided between those who are pro and anti Purge. As head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), Leo's mission is to protect her during her controversial and contested run for president. But when a betrayal leaves them onto the streets of Washington, D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state.

Storyline: It's been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night. Now serving as head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), his mission is to protect her in a run for president and survive the annual ritual that targets the poor and innocent. But when a betrayal forces them onto the streets of D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive until dawn...or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state.

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, September 28, 2016 The Purge: Election Year is a more interesting film than one might credit it for from the outside looking in. The follow-up to both The Purge and The Purge: Anarchy isn't just about killing for killing's sake, about having "fun" at the expense of another's life, but instead taking a long, hard look at a society that has devalued life and the devolution and decay of the moral fabric that once brought people together, not bring them to killing. The film doesn't shy away from exploring themes of morality, societal evolution and its effects on the populace, base instinct for survival, and general commentary on the state of the world. The film is certainly a work of fiction, but it's not one that feels all that far off the beaten path. In fact, many would argue that society is headed straight towards the world of The Purge. The movie is a target-rich environment, so to speak, for political commentary. Best to leave that up to the individual viewer, but suffice it to say beyond the very thin veil of basic Purge storylines is one of the most thought-provoking films of the year.

Purge Night is quickly approaching, and of all the people who have targets on their backs, none is more prominent than Presidential Candidate Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), a Senator who has built her campaign around the platform of eliminating The Purge, which, of course, does not sit well with either its political proponents or the hooligans who use the night as an excuse to run wild with no consequences, except, maybe, one day, on their own consciences. She's protected by her security chief, Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), who vows to remain at her side for the night. The Senator, against everyone's better judgment, has decided to remain home on Purge night. The house is secured, but it may not be enough. Meanwhile, a shop owner named Joe Dickson (Mykelti Williamson) faces the night armed above his store against a band of Purgers led by a teenage girl with whom he had a run-in earlier in the day.

There are many ways to view a movie like The Purge: Election Year. As a flick that's just about violence and the fight back against it, it's not half-bad, but nothing special. It's mildly gruesome and more unsettling than it is visually revolting. It can be seen as a cautionary tale. It can be viewed as a preview of the world's direction, where moral decline is on the rise and it seems the globe is teetering on the brink of multiple collapses. The conspiracy theory crowd might view it as "conditioning" and "programming," another example of Hollywood using mainstream moviemaking as a means of normalizing the process of dehumanizing. There's even the notion of violent depopulation of the lower classes or "undesirables," a conspiracy theory that dates back decades and was, in a way, even the subject of the film Logan's Run. Writer/Director James DeMonaco, whose career in recent years has not diverted from The Purge pathway, has crafted a seriously interesting film open to multiple interpretations, many of which will reflect one's own life experiences, moral code, and view of the modern world. The nuts-and-bolts of the movie isn't that interesting, but the rest of it is truly fascinating if one is willing to move beyond the basic depravity and explore what it is the movie is saying and how it fits into the world in which it was made.

That the movie is less an orgy of violence and more a blend of pointed and social commentary is most welcome, but it doesn't necessarily translate to making this a great movie. Indeed, it's much more interesting for what it says than how it says it. The core story is very straightforward and the violence gruesome, but not necessarily boundary-pushing. It's a bit slow in the middle as the story seems to spin in circles, failing to do much of anything of a more visceral interest. It's flimsy execution, nothing that hasn't been done before, but DeMonaco ensures that the movie's core simplicities are matched, and usually outclassed, by the more pointed themes and underscored by the more subtle commentary. Performances are merely passable, a product of stilted writing (in terms of the core goings-on in the movie) and, resultantly, precious little material to stretch the actors in any meaningful way. For the most part, The Purge: Election Year is more about its gunplay, running from place to place, and having some fun with some of the crazies who participate in Purge Night. It's a touch overlong, too, and grows tiresome by the end, but it's worth a watch, and particularly for those who watch for more than just some easy bloodshed.

The Purge: Election Year is hardly a master film, but it's an interesting film. Superficially bland but thematically relevant and thought-provoking, Director James DeMonaco takes the franchise in a logical direction and does a good job of balancing commentary and underlying thematic relevance rather than smothering the movie in it, or on the flip side leaving out all but a semblance of depth and just focusing on the mayhem. Even if the film's run-and-gun bits and pieces aren't more than basically satisfying, The Purge: Election Year impresses as a movie that, if nothing else, leaves the viewer thinking about what it says and the direction in which the real world may very well be headed, whether this be a cautionary tale or an alarm bell. Universal's Blu-ray is fine, lacking much supplementally content but offering up good video and audio. Recommended.


[CSW] -2.7- The Purge: Election Year is the best film in the franchise to date led by an excellent & diverse cast. Sure there are huge plot holes but there were in all of the Purge films. Many call this film a horror or torture film; I disagree and believe it is a dystopian and perhaps simplistic political and social narrative. The first depicted a Right Wing government that has implemented a homicidal solution to get rid of people on the lower end of the economic ladder, while the wealthy and powerful can afford protection against 12 hours of sanctioned mayhem. The second film showed that not everyone is in favor of the purge or it's country's leadership. In this third installment a woman senator who is against The Purge ( and who has lost her family to it) is targeted by the leadership ( The New Founding Fathers) and is aided by both normal people / a revolutionary group/ and people who are defying this annual event. There are very dark comic moments like a truck that hauls the victims from the streets, but most of it centers on confronting an established order that stops at nothing to keep the purge going and reducing the programs for the needy. Much like Rollerball the scenario is not that cartoonish when you think about how money and spending seems to flow into certain people's pockets and how money/power trump Democracy and clear thinking. Good film that moves at a steady pace and seems an end to this trilogy (although I'm not completely sure of that last fact).
[V4.0-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box


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