Movie Review

Here I am, blogging on a Saturday which I don’t typically do…

because I am totally dedicated to this challenge. It’s hard though, not going to lie!

Today, I give you my thoughts on “The First Purge”.

The First Purge (Release Date: July 4th, 2018)

America’s third political party, the New Founding Fathers of America, comes to power and conducts an experiment: no laws for 12 hours on Staten Island. No one has to stay on the island, but $5,000 is given to anyone who does.

Stars: Y’lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, and Joivan Wade

Director: Gerard McMurray

Rating/ Runtime: R 1hr 38

My Thoughts…

I thought I was finished with this franchise. After the first movie, they started a pretty fast decline in my opinion. I couldn’t even get through “Election Year” the first time, though I did watch it yesterday (all of it), just so I could compare it to this one.

You see, this film was under “new management” and that made me very curious. Although the prequel has the same writer, a new director takes the helm and there isn’t a single big name attached. This was very intriguing to me, so I rented it with Hubby the other night and it totally surprised me.

It was actually pretty good! Completely different from the last few gore splattered installments. Instead of being a gratuitous display of “Let’s see how much we can shock the viewers” type of movie, it’s a not so subtle commentary on various social issues plaguing the nation. In this volatile Trump era, the writer decided to do away with subtext, and really blast viewers with difficult truths.

It’s not the gore and special effects that will make you feel sick, or even the graphic violence. It’s who the violence is directed at, and how it’s delivered that will horrify you. Or at least that’s how it made me feel. I literally felt sick at heart and angry watching this one. A far different reaction than I experienced watching the other installments.

I also appreciated this film more from a cinematic perspective as well. Direction and cinematography was better, and included those one shot, single camera scenes that I love so much. There was one thing near the end that I found ridiculous and unfortunately, it detracted from the film quite a bit for me, but you’ll have to see for yourself.

However as a whole, this movie is entertaining and worth watching. Its powerful message comes across loud and clear, and it’s a good option for a Halloween movie night.

Rating… B

IMDb