Review: The Purge 2
What would happen if, for one night a year, you were able to kill whoever you wanted and get off scot free? That was the shaky premise behind last year’s The Purge. It’s set 20 years into the future where crime is so rife that the US government sanctions an annual 12-hour period for the public to go on a murderous spree – you know, just to get it out of everyone’s system.
That film focused on a wealthy family trying to get through the night in their home (and failing, quite spectacularly). The Purge: Anarchy takes this idea out on to the streets of New York, following around a hapless band of stragglers who unintentionally find themselves outside. This fleshes out the concept considerably – crime is a sickness of society.
It’s a vast improvement on the original. But when your characters are weak, concept is king and this one just has too many gaping holes in it.