The fourth film in the "Purge" franchise, "The First Purge" serves as a prequel to the 2013 original. The story follows the New Founding Fathers of America as they conduct a radical experiment on Staten Island, allowing residents to commit any crime for twelve hours with no consequences. While the previous films in the franchise have been criticized for their violence and lack of originality, "The First Purge" continues this trend and adds little to the franchise. The performances of Y'lan Noel and Lex Scott Davis are notable, but the film is otherwise filled with cliches and contrivances, and lacks tension or atmosphere. The addition of neon lights and Marisa Tomei in a blonde wig seems to be the only real reason for this movie's existence. The film is not a necessary addition to the franchise and does not add anything new to the story.
La cuarta película de la franquicia "Purge", "The First Purge" sirve como precuela de la original de 2013. La historia sigue a los Nuevos Padres Fundadores de América mientras realizan un experimento radical en Staten Island, que permite a los residentes cometer cualquier delito durante doce horas sin consecuencias. Si bien las películas anteriores de la franquicia han sido criticadas por su violencia y falta de originalidad, "The First Purge" continúa esta tendencia y agrega poco a la franquicia. Las actuaciones de Y'lan Noel y Lex Scott Davis son notables, pero la película está llena de clichés y artilugios, y carece de tensión o atmósfera. La adición de luces de neón y Marisa Tomei con una peluca rubia parece ser la única razón real de la existencia de esta película. La película no es una adición necesaria a la franquicia y no agrega nada nuevo a la historia.
Review by BuddyBlockedParentSpoilers2024-02-28T12:39:24Z
Started off strong and ended like a cheap action film... 5/10.
Spoilers down below.
Pros:
The premise started strong with the start of the Purge experiment and how the world was reacting to it.
I adored how they portrayed the Church as a refuge for those in need as well.
The protags were great as well.
Cons:
It started off with subtlety and natural flow but somewhere in the mix, they pretty much made a race war. I didn't notice this off the bat but slowly realized. Every good guy was a minority. Every bad guy (besides Skeletor who was just psychotic) were white. Not only this, when you look at the mercenaries, it's the whitest dudes you can get, and many wear KKK masks and Nazi-like appearances.
The action was so unbelievably over-the-top. It's hard to be in suspense when the gang leader is apparently Jason Statham.
Skeletor was shown as a main antagonist but somewhere in the mix, he just disappeared. Only for him to reappear, conveniently, in the "final battle", just to be killed off.
The ending was something like a cheesy action film where the "heroes" battle the terrible government.
And the film portrays the civilians has unwilling to Purge yet everytime it shows a civilian purging, they just hide in some abandoned area, do some "where is he?!" yelling and then disappear somewhere.