In
preparation for the sequel coming out soon, I finally watched the original. I
liked it about as much as I expected to, and I didn’t hate it as much as the
general public did. But there were things I didn’t like. The acting, especially
in the beginning, was a little awkward and weird. Maybe it was script, I don’t
know. Also, some of the plot did not make sense, and I know that’s the biggest
complaint about the movie. For one, I find it hard to believe that a system
like The Purge would actually work in society, and I also thought it was
unrealistic that people would react so enthusiastically towards it the way they
did. Like the family’s neighbors, for instance.
Ethan
Hawke’s character I especially did not like. Again, I don’t know if it was his
acting or the way his character was written but I honestly did not care about
him, (*Spoiler) even when he died. I thought that Lena Headey’s performance was
much better, especially at the end. I really appreciated the fact that her
character did not kill the neighbors, even though she easily could have. She
understood that just because murder is legal during The Purge, it does not make
it morally right.
That
is what I found most fascinating about the movie, and why I did not give it a
lower rating. It was an interesting dissection of human nature, and how the
absence of punishment can unleash our most horrible tendencies. It kind of
disgusts me that people would do terrible things to each other just because they could. There was also
the element of class separation and how it was only the rich who could afford
to be safe during The Purge. I had not expected that.
The
movie thoroughly entertained me, even though it had some plot holes. I am
interested in seeing the sequel, since it depicts life outside of the security
systems on the night of The Purge.
IMDb rating: 7/10
