The Purge: Election Year (2016)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  7 / 10

  The third instalment in the low budget franchise, The Purge: Election Year is about a senator trying to put an end to the annual Purge but the NFFA take advantage of the night to try and eliminate her. This is an established franchise now, the first film did well but the second film was absolutely enjoyable from start to finish. This film tries to copy its predecessor and it’s very noticeable, for good or bad let's find out. The performances all round were solid, Frank Grillo returns as the gritty hero and suits the role perfectly. But the stand out star was Mykelti Williamson who was effortlessly natural, his charm and wit maintained the realism of the characters. With the title 'Election Year' you know it's going to be politically motivated, and this was a good thing. The debate about the annual Purge being a good cleanse or essentially murder was well explored with interesting viewpoints being thrown in. The script really didn't aid the theme, in fact the script was rather clunky and this clunkiness resulted in a lot of pacing issues throughout. Some scenes were exciting and thrilling, but the majority of the film was just dialogue whilst walking around an empty city and unfortunately it was rather boring. There are crazy people doing crazy things which is what makes this film enjoyable, the problem is halfway through the film it becomes predictable and focusses more on the political message. Its predecessor was the first to show the craziness at its full glory, this film is essentially copying it and it does not feel fresh anymore...it was too safe. There is one teenage girl in the film who I can honestly say was flipping creepy, sassy and just dangerous (if you've seen it, you know who I mean). Overall, The Purge: Election Year is more of the same as its predecessor, crazy people doing crazy things, view that as bad or good is entirely up to you. However this time there are obvious pacing issues in this politically charged sequel.

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