An angry movie about our toxic political climate, class and economic disparity, and the maltreatment of minorities, “The First Purge” is incensed with the currently failing state of America. These inequities are all worth fury and indignation, which is a shame, because this latest film in this exploitation franchise—all about a sociopolitical experiment where crime is legal and allows citizens to release their violent demons in a 12-hour period— “The First Purge” has no clue what to do with its own pent-up rage.
Essentially the “Solo: A Star Wars Story” of “The Purge” series, “The First Purge” fills us in with backstory we never asked for, and spells out, very explicitly how the state of this fictional dystopian America came to be (we don’t really care). The film details how the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) came to power because they offered a different viewpoint from Democrats and Republicans, and how this first Purge succeeded (built on a lie that I won’t spoil here, but the trailer has already done so). Rather than offer anything resembling insightful political, moral or humanistic critique, these unnecessary plot threads coupled with the broad societal issues the film is so vexed about creating merely nothing more than a checklist of things to be mad as hell about.
The “experimental” first Purge is restricted only to Staten Island, where there is a larger population of low-income citizens are being bribed with money by the NFFA to participate in this reckoning. Nya (Lex Scott Davis) is a social activist trying to persuade people not to participate in the nihilistic Purge. Her brother Isaiah (Jovian Wade) starts pushing drugs for Dmitri (Y’Lan Noel)— the town’s top dealer and Nya’s ex—but decides to take NFFA money to Purge after a run-in with a junkie (Rotimi Paul) who cut him.
Once the Purge commences, it’s an excuse for these three main characters to venture into the dangerous night, get separated, and then try and survive. Since that has been the main driving narrative since “The Purge: Anarchy,” all these movies are now evenly unsubtle and upfront about their inequitable commentary (a blessing and a curse for these films). “The Purge” pictures live or die by how their characters are developed and defined. Part one and three work because there is some dimension to these people. Part 2 and this entry is empty. But generally, the characters are archetypes with threadbare motivation and connections to one another. The actors are giving it their best effort with the material they are given, but they can’t quite overcome it. Except Marisa Tomei, as the bi-partisan scientist who developed The Purge. All of Tomei’s lines are delivered in a monotone, phoned-in fashion, and she perpetually looks like she’s embarrassed to be there.
Franchise creator James DeMonaco wrote “The First Purge” screenplay, but for this prequel Gerard McMurray (“Burning Sands“) took over directing duties. The story already concluded nicely in the third entry (“Election Year“), so it’s clear why DeMonaco opted for a prequel. It’s also evident why he would pass the torch, given that McMurray could perhaps bring a perspective to this material that DeMonaco could not. It’s just unfortunate that the movie is too afraid to be as biting and confrontational as it could be, but what’s more unfortunate is how amateurish the movie looks on occasion. DeMonaco found a fittingly gritty groove by the third film, and McMurray mimics that template. However, the editing here is borderline incomprehensible in the action sequences (maybe the Michael Bay influence, who serves as a producer here along with Jason Blum), not to mention some of the worst CGI blood and fire this side of an Asylum Picture.
Ultimately, “The First Purge” demonstrates the serialization of the series is creating diminishing returns. This latest installment, which fails to deliver anything new or inventive to keep the franchise fresh, has the dulling impact of rampant bad news—you become numb to its formula, and it’s easy to tune out. Founded on a good, cynical, dystopian, perhaps becoming-increasingly-prescient idea, “Purge” films should be confrontational, ready to shake you out of your complacency; never underestimate anger as a strong motivating force.
Instead, audiences have come to expect its violence and on-the-nose commentary. Proud exploitation films with more on their mind than most of their kind at the multiplex are always worth championing. And any flick that plays in over 3,000 theaters that makes references to “The Exterminator” and “Ghetto Blaster” cannot be all bad. But “The First Purge”— for all that it could have said about race and class in America— is perfectly content to provide the bare minimum and deliver some cheap thrills. And in doing so, the thrills come at the expense of the seemingly sharp points, now blunt, no longer cutting deep and drawing blood like they used to. [D].