THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR. Rating: NNN See listing.
The Purge movies are crudely slapped together B-movies that indulge in sadistic violence while wagging a finger at the society that craves it. While theres nothing remarkably improved in the third instalment, it feels far more immediate and relevant. Just a symptom of the times I guess.
The movies, with their gimmick about a legalized 12-hour killing spree, are fucked up. But it seems with the recent frequency of mass shootings and the NRAs reaction to them, America is racing along to be just as fucked. This franchise stumbles into its allegory, with writer/director James DeMonaco exploiting that opportunity and promoting the idea that The Purge was always on point.
This time around, a female presidential candidate, Senator Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), runs on a campaign to oppose the political brotherhood and explicitly the NRA who profit from mass murder. So when the powers that be send an army to snuff her out on Purge night, she takes to the streets with her security detail (Frank Grillo) and working-class citizens who stand up for her cause.
Among that ragtag crew is a cynical shopkeeper played by Mykelti Williamson, who adds just the right touch of barbed humour to make all the on-the-nose politics and carnage go down easy.
