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I saw this trailer last night when I went to see Evil Dead. (Sadly the trailer for this movie was better than Evil Dead).
I LOVE the idea behind the movie! Very interesting!
HOWEVER, I don't like that the story is being told through the eyes of one family during this "purge" night. I think the story would be so much more interesting if we had an ensemble of stories through the eyes of various groups of people during the "purge" night so that we can see all the sinister things that are being done across the country during the "purge".
Unfortunately, it appears as if we are stuck with a story about a guy fleeing a group of people because he either has money or knowledge that they want, or perhaps the group of people want revenge on him for something he has done. If this turns out to be the case, I think the writer missed out on potentially a very interesting story that could look into all the evil things that people would do when they have no fear of punishment for their crimes.
That being said, I WILL go see this movie!
Kenneth Abbott Jr.
One of a very small group of people that actually saw Kevin Costner's "The Postman" in theaters, and I LOVED it!
Sorry guys. I think the idea is breathtakingly stupid. I can't, for the life of me, suspend disbelief even for a moment.
Even so, I agree with kabbottjr that the writer seems to have totally neglected the possibilities inherent in the idea (note that I've neglected to use the word "potential"). It basically seems like a run-of-the-mill home invasion plot with a really, really dumb backstory tacked onto it.
I'm also not a fan of Ethan Hawke at all. He's not a bad actor but his persona just comes off as wimpy and annoying. I'm not sure if that's his schtick or just the roles he picks but this has been an ongoing problem.
Is no dumber than the idea behind the Hunger Games IMO, yet they still made a fairly decent film out of that. This reminds me of a short story called Those Who Walk Away From Omelus. In which all the towns inhabitants are perfectly happy, cultured and well to do. All because there is this child locked in a basement that gets whipped and beaten daily. This kid sort of relieves the community of its evilness but you have to give up your humanity to live there knowing so. I don't buy you can purge evilness, it only spirals out of control. Interesting concept, tho. I might get in line for this.
When you were talking about "Those Who Walk Away From Omelus" it reminded me of scape-goating, which then reminded me of the ESPN 30 for 30 done a few years ago about Steve Bartman (the Chicago Cub fan that interfered with a catchable ball when the Cubs were 5 outs away from going to the World Series in 2003).
If you haven't seen it, I higly recommend it...even if you aren't a baseball fan or a fan of sports in general. It makes you feel truly sorry for Steve Bartman (which was how I felt when I saw the incident go down on live TV since I am an Astros fan and not a Cubs fan).
Kenneth Abbott Jr.
One of a very small group of people that actually saw Kevin Costner's "The Postman" in theaters, and I LOVED it!
When you were talking about "Those Who Walk Away From Omelus" it reminded me of scape-goating, which then reminded me of the ESPN 30 for 30 done a few years ago about Steve Bartman (the Chicago Cub fan that interfered with a catchable ball when the Cubs were 5 outs away from going to the World Series in 2003).
Am not a huge baseball fan, but am aware of Steve Bartman. I wouldn't compare Omelus or The Purge to scapegoating, although I find it a much more believable human condition. You saw what happened to Steve on that special. He single handedly turned evey Cubs fan angainst him, they were united.
This is the only part I truly got from The Watchman. As Dr. Manhattan is blamed for destruction of cities, the world unites against him and nuclear war between the US and Russia is avoided. I believe this could be true.
The Purge, Omelus, or even Hunger Games? I don't buy for a second. I was a fan of The Running Man, another ridiculous concept. I like to believe as we mature as species we would become even more peaceful.
As far as The Purge? Criminals are who they are because they refuse to fall into line and do what they want. I don't think they would wait for one day a year to get rid of all their nastiness and then just resume daily life as a normal citizen.
I bring up Running Man again, just to say I can buy into these concepts for the length of a film if it's compelling. And I can enjoy them...
I agree. I think they're telling the story from the wrong perspective. Like someone said, this seems like a home invasion movie, with a interesting back story. This would seem much more better had the writer had different stories regarding the criminals all interconnecting or something - that would have had me sold.
That being said, I like Ethan Hawke a lot, and I did like the trailer. I'll defo be seeing this, however, whether or not I will enjoy it is another question.
-- Curt
"No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story..."
I'm watching The Hunger Games as I write. James, you can STFU right now, biyotch!
The premise of The Purge is interesting, but more as an intellectual conversation among friends. A 'what would you do if...' scenario. As a movie, I'm not sure.
The premise of The Purge is interesting, but more as an intellectual conversation among friends. A 'what would you do if...' scenario. As a movie, I'm not sure.
My thoughts exactly.
Really not sure about this one. Looks damn near identical to The Strangers.
Think I would have been anticipating it more if the story was the family having to get from A to B, versus being stuck in their house. Whilst the A to B plots have been done to death (but then again, so have home invasions), at least that would have allowed them to have actually milked the situation more, and shown the full extent of the lawlessness.
I don't know what the heck you're all talking about. This film looks like it'll be a hundred mile an hour ride. I've liked Ethan Hawke as an actor ever since Training Day. Hopefully this'll be a good one.
There's little depth, and the comments above about there being a larger story to be told based on the premise bear out...but then it's designed to be a small budget affair...so it does what it does pretty well.
I thought it took a while at the start to get going. They made a wrong decision in limiting the location. But overall, it was okay. Some bad acting. But an enjoyable thriller. Didn't scare me, much. They could have done so much more with a plot like that.
-- Curt
"No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story..."
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The Purge (2013)
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