Arts & Entertainment

MOVIE REVIEWS: 'The Purge' is Too Shallow

Thriller has an interesting concept, but doesn't rise to the premise.

Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey play parents struggling to protect their family during a night in which the government allows all crimes to occur without punishment.

"The Purge" is rated R and runs one hour and 25 minutes. Click here to check Moviefone for local showtimes in Cartersville.

Here's what the critics are saying:

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If you've seen the trailer for 'The Purge,' you know it's got a hell of a premise. The year is 2022, and America has rebounded from financial catastrophe. Unemployment is at an all-time low and crime is virtually non-existent. Why? Because one night every year, law-abiding citizens are given a no-questions-asked license to kill, freeing them of the violent impulses they might feel on the other 364 days of the year. . . . Awesome, right? Too bad writer-director James DeMonaco doesn't take that setup far enough. — Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly

One hurdle is that while "The Twilight Zone" was social commentary dressed up as horror, sci-fi or thrills, "The Purge" is mostly a genre picture trying to layer on some prestige by way of social commentary. The latter falls flat; the film is actually stronger when it just goes for our baser instincts. — Ian Buckwalter, NPR

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"The moral dilemmas, even the class struggle, seemed to wash over the preview-screening crowd I saw the film with. The only spontaneous gleeful applause came when intruders, whoever they may be, were wiped out. The right to protect your home turf was the only thing that got this audience churned up." Marsha McCreadie, The Film Journal

The problem with [the] story is that there are few surprises. [It] does a good job of building tension — especially with music that sounds like the last moans of a dying man — but the plot twists are obvious and that eliminates any pure shock value. — Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review of the film with a comment below after you do.


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