{"id":11906,"date":"2014-07-22T07:38:55","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T13:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=11906"},"modified":"2014-07-22T07:38:55","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T13:38:55","slug":"the-purge-anarchy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=11906","title":{"rendered":"The Purge: Anarchy"},"content":{"rendered":"
Audiences had other ideas. The film, which cost just \u00a31.5million to make, went on to take more than \u00a350million at the box office. Clearly this wasn\u2019t just another shocker about a posh family home being besieged by mask-wearing psychos.It seemed the film\u2019s clever premise had caught the public\u2019s imagination. This devilishly entertaining sequel once again plays out over \u201cPurge Night\u201d, an annual holiday set up by a near-future American government.<\/p>\n

For another 12 hours, all crime \u201cincluding murder\u201d is legalised. Scores can be settled, gun nuts can release their safety catches and the rich and powerful can watch it play out on rolling news.<\/p>\n

Only this\u00a0time we\u2019re not watching with them. We\u2019re out on the streets of LA, dodging bullets and being hunted by murderous gangs.<\/p>\n

Where the first movie crafted simmering suspense from a single location, this offers us the grit and gunfights.\u00a0It also gives director James DeMonaco space to really explore his chewy set-up.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now 2024, a year after the events of the last movie, and the government\u2019s official spin is starting to unravel. On TV, state-sponsored psychologists urge citizens to patriotically purge themselves of their animal urges.<\/p>\n

By \u201creleasing the beast\u201d on one night a year, they argue, Americans will be more willing to abide by the law for the other 364 days.<\/p>\n

But terrorist leader Carmelo (The Wire\u2019s Michael K Williams) has a more political explanation. To him, The Purge is about an unfair society shedding some dead weight. While the rich retreat behind their security systems, the poor will helpfully blast each other to death.<\/p>\n

We begin by watching three sets of characters prepare for the annual holiday. Single mum Eva (Carmen Ejogo), is nervous about getting home to her daughter Cali (Zo\u00eb Soul) after her shift as a waitress.<\/p>\n

A bickering married couple (Kiele Sanchez and Zach Gilford) are cutting it fine while driving back from the supermarket. Then their car starts making some very worrying noises.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a gruff hardman known only as Sergeant (Frank Grillo) has strapped on his body-armour jacket and is loading a small arsenal into his bullet-proof car.<\/p>\n

A plot contrivance puts all of them on them on the\u00a0same mean street corner as darkness descends. Reluctantly, Sergeant agrees to act as their protector as they are harried by a spooky, maskwearing mob and a mysterious troop of paramilitaries.A year is a very tight time frame to turn around a sequel and at times you wish DeMonaco had applied a bit more polish to his script. The dialogue could have been wittier, his characters more fl eshed out and the plot a little more focused.<\/p>\n