Movie Info
Movie Name: The First Purge
Studio: Movie Studio
Genre(s): Movie Genre
Release Date(s): Movie Release Date
MPAA Rating: Movie Rating
Yep…I need to Purge!
A sociological experiment is about to be unleashed on Staten Island. In an attempt to curb the rising violence and crimes, a “Purge Night” is going to be tested to see what effect it has on population. With the New Founding Fathers of America backing it, the Purge is on and the people of Staten Island must decide if they are going to take the money to stay or flee for their lives.
Directed by Gerard McMurray, The First Purge is an action horror film. The fourth entry in the series, the film follows The Purge: Election Year from 2016 and was met with solid returns and average reviews.
The Purge was a so-so movie with a good concept and the sequels managed to improve upon the ideas…but the movies still weren’t great. The movie seeks to show the origin of the Purge and continues to get more political. Aspects of The First Purge work, but it still feels like it is lacking.
Everyone gets a pass!
The story feels necessary at this point. In previous Purge films, you hear stories about the New Founding Fathers of America and the origins of the Purge, but it seems like a strange thing to just start. The conspiracy and the story behind the real origins of the Purge is compelling, but the thrust of the Purge has always been people trying to survive. The “ethnic cleansing” and race issues of the story are realistic especially in the political climate, but the characters and character arcs aren’t very interesting.
Marisa Tomei is underused as the scientist (aka Architect) of the social experiment. While she should maybe be the focus of the film, she’s just a side character. Joivan Wade and Lex Scott Davis as the brother and sister trying to survive the night are rather bland and Y’lan Noel seems like a low-rent version of Idris Elba’s Stringer Bell. I like the primary “villain” Skeletor played by Rotimi Paul, but he goes out like a chump.
We’re going all 300 on these guys! We are Sparta!!!!
There isn’t much compelling visual about The First Purge, but I do like the blue contacts eye monitoring devices which lead to some interesting visuals. The idea that the original Purge would be a party as well does give the film a little more visual differences from previous entries.
The First Purge will be enjoyed by people who like the other Purge films. It provides a little insight to the storyline and that is beneficial, but largely the movie is more of the same. The film does serve as a dovetail into The Purge TV series that premiered in 2018 on USA.
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