Reblogged from my Letterboxd list:
Within its shameless exploitation skin, The Purge: Anarchy actually has a fair bit to say about the amorality of society’s wealthy, and the manipulation of the underclasses to turn on each other for the profit and, even worse, amusement of the elite. Indeed, the extremes of the dystopia depicted here don’t seem so far-fetched in the wake of Brexit and Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign.
That it’s dressed up with shades of The Warriors, The Running Man, Escape From New York and other genre classics – and features a magnetic retro anti-hero in the shape of Frank Grillo – just makes it more of a thrill ride, and a significant improvement on the tired home-invasion schtick of writer-director James DeMonaco’s own original.