The Purge: Election Year is very similar to The Purge: Anarchy in that it is much better than the first installment in the series, but tries to put too many things into one movie. Election Year introduces some great visuals and themes, but does not expand on any of them to their fullest. This makes for an action-packed ride with a lot of fun splatter horror, but not as much substance as the concept leaves room for.
My main problem with the film would be the way it tries very hard to make the purge seem like a plausible occurrence for America while simultaneously showing some very implausible scenarios. Afterall, the movies are set in near-future America to present them in a "real world" kind of scenario. But then it shows ridiculous things like an entire guillotine setup in an alleyway, or two cars completely covered in Christmas lights. Who is actually trying to do such over- the-top things in the middle of the purge? How are there so many people going out of their way to look scary and kill people who seem to have very little interest in staying home and not being killed by other people? Furthermore, the movie presented some interesting topics like purge insurance, murder tourism, and underground resistance but didn't really develop them. I would have preferred development of substance rather than crazy visuals and meaningless violence.
Overall, it was a fun ride that I'm glad I saw in theaters, but probably would not buy for my own collection to watch again.
My main problem with the film would be the way it tries very hard to make the purge seem like a plausible occurrence for America while simultaneously showing some very implausible scenarios. Afterall, the movies are set in near-future America to present them in a "real world" kind of scenario. But then it shows ridiculous things like an entire guillotine setup in an alleyway, or two cars completely covered in Christmas lights. Who is actually trying to do such over- the-top things in the middle of the purge? How are there so many people going out of their way to look scary and kill people who seem to have very little interest in staying home and not being killed by other people? Furthermore, the movie presented some interesting topics like purge insurance, murder tourism, and underground resistance but didn't really develop them. I would have preferred development of substance rather than crazy visuals and meaningless violence.
Overall, it was a fun ride that I'm glad I saw in theaters, but probably would not buy for my own collection to watch again.