The First Purge

       The First Purge is the fourth film in the Purge franchise and has a certain twist for this entry. This one is a prequel and serves as an origin story for how the first purge, hence the title, played out. The first purge was an experiment that was centered on Staten Island where you had to sign up to participate. Or, you could've stayed on the island and tried to survive, but if you signed up through the government then you would receive some special camera contact lenses and financial compensation. It centers on at least 4 characters: The brother and sister, the gang boss on the island, and the scientist who gave birth to the experiment. The latter doesn't really get as much screen time as you would think but instead puts more focus on the people trying to survive.

       I have to say, this is probably the most "meh" movie I've seen this year. I knew, going in, that it wasn't going to be that great. I mean, its the fourth entry in a series that wasn't all that captivating to begin with so you can probably guess where my expectations were. It's not a bad movie, it's just that, by now, they're so straightforward that it begs someone to wonder if they're actually going to incorporate some meaningful commentary or just milk the concept dry. I haven't seen two of the movies: Anarchy and Election Day. After reading an article on The Verge website, Keith Phipps, the writer, explains how this entry differs from the other ones in terms of political commentary. From what I was able to gather, The First Purge is the most political out of the four movies. While the first one was sort of effortless, the second and third entries "straddled a line between entertainment and political commentary." What Phipps means by this statement is that both Anarchy and Election Day are films that can't decide whether or not to go head first into their vague commentary or just be a mediocre way to spend an hour and a half. DeMonaco, the director, attempts to go all in on the politics with the fourth installment, but it comes out too exposed rather than intellectually subtle. He implements imagery that'll remind people of tragic and political events that have happened in the past year or so, but it felt exploitative.
     There aren't just problems with the politics of this movie and the franchise as a whole, but there are technical problems with it too. Right off the bat, the first thing I didn't like about this entry was the almost inexistent setup. We are given these characters that have barely any redeemable qualities and a scarce backstory. Its like they filmed stuff for each of these characters, but then decided to start the movie 20 minutes in instead of the beginning. The only character that I had an easy time liking was the sister. She is shown to be somewhat of a leader in the protest of the experiments. She takes care of her brother and pays the bills. The brother, however, when the movie ended, had no insight whatsoever and had a whopping zero character development. It makes even less sense when you consider the fact that there is an entire subplot dedicated to him and another purger who earlier in the film wronged him a certain way. Speaking of that subplot, they give up on it a third of the way through the movie. The character of the mob boss I also had a hard time understanding. He is someone who doesn't like the idea of the purge, but it's so ironic that his character is against the idea of legalized crime. Also, the twist is predictable. Anyone who watched the trailer probably could've seen it from a mile away. The other main character, the scientist, is treated so poorly. I'm talking about both the lack of screen time and the way her arc ends. Also, the last line of dialogue is so cheesy that I almost puked in my seat.
       The few things about this movie that is in anyway good are the origin aspect and the concept, despite the rehashing. Few things about this movie can pass it as an origin story, but its still interesting to wonder, with a movie series like this, where it all started. However, the movie glosses over the actual origin part of the story. The concept, at this point, only serves those who enjoy gory, violent imagery. The songs are also fitting, I guess.
       C'mon guys. It's a Purge movie. You know exactly what it's going to be and you know exactly how it's going to play out. I do wish they continued the story further instead of ending where it did, but that's just me. Its a 'meh' experience and I honestly could've cared less. They better do something more with the series soon. 5/10