The Purge: Election Year

Even if i live in Sweden, i like to listen to the American President election. And if you have followed some of this, you might know it stands between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Who will win ? Hard to say at this point, but whoever takes the trophy home, i wish you all luck. Politics can be very hard, in many ways. Every politician has to take on many problems, where some things may seem impossible to fix. Unfortunately, many politicians are known for talking, and don´t do anything about it. Maybe this is why Donald Trump is getting so many americans on board his train, he is saying things that no one else would say. Here in Sweden we have had a lot of issues, especially about the migration problems. Every single politic party in the swedish government have been in discussion, on how to fix this issue. With so many migrants coming in to Sweden ( even more in Germany ), you have to arrange places for them to live, food, clothes, well fair, swedish language education. Hopefully we will get this done right, so migrants can get jobs, and find their place in society. So what happens when society have had enough, with raising criminality, where not even Police can fix everything? What if politicians decided to give everyone a chance, where you can kill anyone you want, within 12 hours ? I personally don´t think this would solve all the problems, but i would not be surprised if someone would come up with a crazy idea like this. The idea of having 12 hours to kill anyone you want, was shown in a film called The Purge, back in 2013. It was a small film, with a very limited budget, but became a box office success. With Ethan Hawke in the lead role, horror fans got excited and gave this film a positive reputation. I will say this, i did not enjoy the first film as much as some people do. The main reason for that is because the whole film basically took place inside a house. When director James DeMonaco returned to make a sequel, he listened to the feedback from the first film, and made The Purge: Anarchy, out on the streets instead. The results were much better, and i had a good time with the sequel, it is better than the first film. I also felt that the characters were more interesting in the sequel. So here we are with the third installment of the Purge films, and director James DeMonaco is the director again. I only read some details before the film premiered, so i was not sure if it would work a third time around. But i got the chance to go and see it in the cinema, just to see if the concept would still work. Is this third Purge film the strongest release so far, or is this another sequel you might as well forget, and spend your money on something else ?

The year is 2040, and it is only 2 nights until the annual Purge night begins. Riots are breaking out all over Washington D.C., where people are claiming that New Founding Fathers, are using the Purge to help their economic agenda. Senator Charlie Roan ( Elisabeth Mitchell ) is running for president in the upcoming Presidental campaign. She feels that the Purge night should not exist, because murder is not something that should be allowed. NFFA´S candidate, Minister Edwidge Owens ( Kyle Secor ) see Charlie Roan as a threat. On March 20, the day before the annual Purge, the NFFA revoke the Purge rule, where 10 government officials are protected. This will give them a chance to eliminate Roan, with the help of a white supremacist group. Leo Barnes ( Frank Grillo ) is the head of security, and is making sure no one will hurt Senator Roan. The Purge night is just around the corner, and Leo is about to experience another day in hell, where no one is safe.

When you are going into a third sequel, in a film series, you better make sure you have something to deliver. Because in general, sequels are very often not very good. When it comes to The Purge: Election Year, it is actually not a disaster that it easily could have been. You have the main character from the second film here, Leo Barnes ( Frank Grillo ), who is a really good action star. He is perhaps the biggest reason why i enjoyed The Purge: Anarchy so much. This third time around, he is still here and ready to clean up the streets. The cast this time is filled with fresh faces, and one of the actors i have to mention, doing a great job, is Elisabeth Mitchell as Senator Charlie Roan. Her character feels both interesting, and to see her as the strong woman, who tries to end the Purge, makes sense. I also enjoy the character Joe Dion, played by actor Mykelti Williamson. He is a funny store manager, who says what he thinks, and deliver some funny dialogues along the way. If we take a look at the plot, it is basically another Purge film, with a lot of similar details from the previous films. However, this time it is more about political issues. And you will notice that, as we are introduced to how politicians feel very passionate about the Purge. Their need to kill people, to get society back on track ( in their minds ). I think director James DeMonaco did the right choice, making this third film more political. Because the Purge does include a lot of political subjects, and the concept of the film works. Another thing i feel director DeMonaco have done this time, is to deliver more insanity. Some of these crazy Purge hunters, have clearly no problem with killing innocent people. It is almost like it turns them on. While the second film tried to take the battle into the streets, this third film tries to do it more traditional to the first film. We do get to see the main characters being attacked, but mostly at chosen locations. Once the killings and violence begins, the film takes a step into the right direction. Perhaps i would have liked some more scenes on the streets, to see people going even more insane. I felt that the second film The Purge: Anarchy, managed to portrait this better. Still, i will say that for a third film in a film series, The Purge: Election Year manage to keep the train going, in a positive way. Some details could have been improved, but with some great characters, fighting in another Purge night, you should find something to be pleased about. The Purge: Election Year does not deliver anything fresh, but that´s ok, i feel entertained by the concept. With Frank Grillo as the main character, you are in for a fun ride where violence is needed to solve major problems. Will we ever see a fourth film ? We can always hope, but if we do, i hope Frank Grillo will return. Without him i don´t think these Purge films would work, as well as they do.

Rating: DDD