Always surprised how few peeps review movies, as I think it's so important to watch movies and see what works and what doesn't, and why for screenwriters.

I was also surprised how poor the reviews were for last year's surprise hit, The Purge.  The original may not have been great or even as good as it could have been or should have been, but it was a solid little contained thriller that did have some truly disturbing and powerful scenes, and was a great concept, even as completely goofy as it is in reality.

But, when a movie makes so much money on such a small budget and is so open for sequels, you know they're going to follow.

I really wasn't sure what to expect with this one, as trailers looked quite good...and very different from the original.  The trailers were true to form - this is quite good and very different from the original.

This was made on a $9 Million budget, and I'll tell you straight up - it looks and feels more like a $30 or $40 Million budget.  The only downside is some not so great CG blood spray, but otherwise, all very well done.

This has already pulled in $83 Million WW, and will most likely break $100 Million when it's all said and done.  Quite a feat for a little R rated horror action thriller competing against all the big boys in the dog days of Summer.

IMO, it's best to go into this type of movie as blind as you can, so I'm not going to spoil anything in terms of plot points or story elements.

I will say a few generic things, though.  This thing moves...alot and quickly!  It's a very smart concept that James DeMonaco came up with, because it feels fresh every 15 minutes or so.  We have several Protags and numeruos Antags, however, most of society seems to be very evil here, which is probably my 1 biggest gripe.

Even when certain scenes work, they come off rather goofy and unreal, because of how evil many are protrayed as.  But, thinking back to the original, it's actually consistent and almost a tongue in cheek kind of wink wink.

There has been much discussion about the level of violence on display here.  Don't get me wrong, it is very violent and hundreds die brutal deaths, but I was actually expecting and hoping for a little more, as the opportunities were definitely there.  And, as mentioned above, a little more old school practical blood spray would have been nice.

There are some cliches and some telegraphed action and plot points, but all in all, this is a great ride and far superior to the original.  I can actually see a new Purge coming out each Summer for years to come....and I welcome this new franchise with open arms.

Grade - A-

I always find movies like this boring. Where people run and get into one situation then another and another. I understand how people think of them as dynamic but they just don't work for me. They just seek excuses to add action scenes and action without build up falls flat for me. Especially when it's pretty standard action. So this movie felt tiresome after about 30 min to me.

I read they made James DeMonaco cut a scene that was called "the rape corner", where women are tied up and men get lined up to rape them. Then someone machine guns the men. Or something like that.

I thought the first movie wasn't very good. This was marginally better.

I'd pass on it.

Correct.  "The rape corner" was an idea DeMonaco had to give in on when the head of Universal said now way to it.  DEMonaco hopes to be able to include the scene in some way, at some time, but it may have to wait until the sequels go DTV.

The rape corner sounds like fun and makes me wish I had been cast as one of the extras.  8)

Quoted from Guest The rape corner sounds like fun and makes me wish I had been cast as one of the extras.  8)

LOL  ;D

Back on topic, I liked the first Purge, and I want to see the sequel.  :)

Quoted from Guest LOL  ;D Back on topic, I liked the first Purge, and I want to see the sequel.  :)

Sequel is much better.  Much bigger.  And much more mean spirited.

Obviously I haven't and won't see the film but I was always mystified after reading reviews of the first one: they had this pretty cool concept and the opportunity to make a great film but they just chose to show the effects of the purge night on one family and not the whole city or whatever.

Quoted from stevie Obviously I haven't and won't see the film but I was always mystified after reading reviews of the first one: they had this pretty cool concept and the opportunity to make a great film but they just chose to show the effects of the purge night on one family and not the whole city or whatever.

Well... they had a budget of 3 mil.

I would assume the script was sold on the concept and the low cost needed to produce it.

Quoted from Demento Well... they had a budget of 3 mil. I would assume the script was sold on the concept and the low cost needed to produce it.

Gotcha. Bit of a shame as it is a neat concept.

Going to the drive in this weekend to see Guadians of the Galaxy with the wife and kids! Will be the first adult film I've seen on a big screen since the dark knight in 2008.  Lol.  I haven't seen any major films of the last few years on DVD or TV either. Couldn't really be bothered lol

Quoted from stevie Going to the drive in this weekend to see Guadians of the Galaxy with the wife and kids! Will be the first adult film I've seen on a big screen since the dark knight in 2008.

Adult film?  Really?  A gun touting racoon and and an animated tree?  I didn't realize this was aimed at adults...

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Quoted from Dreamscale Adult film?  Really?  A gun touting racoon and and an animated tree?  I didn't realize this was aimed at adults... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Well,it's rated M here lol. It looks funny

Heard it's pretty good, Stevie. Especially for kids. But adults like it too.

Not my type of thing. But it's a massive surprise hit for Marvel, who appear completely unable to put a foot wrong these days.

I do hope you enjoy it more than you did The Dark Knight. Otherwise it'll be 2020 before your local multiplex sees you and your shorts again. Have fun.

R

Quoted from stevie Going to the drive in this weekend to see Guadians of the Galaxy with the wife and kids! ...

You lucky bugger. The only drive-in surviving around here is the one out west. Way too far to travel. Oh, I miss those days.

Purge Anarchy looks interesting. I just hope there's some decent story  in amongst the gore-fest. A 'rape corner'? Hmm. Great photo Demento, just like the George Costanza one was - sometimes a pic paints a thousand words.  ;)

Quoted from Guest The rape corner sounds like fun and makes me wish I had been cast as one of the extras.  8)

The fuck?

This was a significant improvement over the first, to me. Dumb as a bag of stupid, but it looked good, some of the action stuff was pretty cool, and a lot of people died in fun ways. CG blood looked like garbage and contributed to the general sense that studio horror tends to have no teeth.

Was stoked at the start of the film when it seemed like it was gonna be about race and classism; turned out to just be about White Guy. Luckily, he was good, even if he reduced everyone around him to incompetent goofballs wailing for help. The potentially satiric elements just kinda sat there, somehow both overt and totally unexplored, same as the first film.

Totally pointless and neither scary nor vicious enough, but there was still something quite enjoyable about this one, I thought. Worth a time-wasting watch.

SPOILERS

Missed out on the good ending, just like the first. That one should have ended with the protagonists actually getting stabbed to death by the neighbours; this one should have ended with the soldiers gunning all the protagonists down even though the Purge had ended. Ah well.

I didn't hate the film, but it was an improvement over the first film. Since the box office (and critic) trajectory is up, I expect a third movie within a year or so. I don't know if Frank Grillo will return, but that New Anti-Purge resistance group looks ripe to explore further. If I had any complaint about Purge 2, it's the jab at The Absurdity of The Rich. An auction...really? If some joker outbid me I'd find the nearest steak knife and carve up that sucker like a roast. (It's The Purge, after all)

The Purge does have a good hook. I didn't know how far they could take it, because it's harder making a horror scary the larger you make the arena in which it takes place, if that makes sense. Didn't care for the first one too much. I'd have to agree the second is better, it added elements from the action genre which spruced things up. It takes the "hook" I was speaking of to a logical conclusion however again lose a little bit of the horror element, IMO (add some action in place off), especially if you have them cutting scenes named "rape corner." One thing this story had that the other probably didn't if I recall correctly is a main character who has something to learn, and does when he doesn't take the life of the man who killed his son, which something horror movies lacks.

BLB

Really enjoyed this one. It left me wanting more from the Purge Universe.

Maybe not great art, but reminds me of the Saw films. Just very enjoyable and addictive to watch.

99% of films these days bore me. This one didn't.

I liked this one better than the first one. The first one was a little hard to believe, IMO.

This one was half way there. This concept sells itself. People will keep coming back... which means it's not so much of a gamble on the investment, which hopefully means we'll get something close to greatness next time. I really want to see something good come from this.