The Purge: Election Year (2016) Review

"I want my candy bar!"

-Kimmy

18 years after the events of The Purge: Anarchy, the ruling party, The New Founding Father's of America are in danger of losing the next election to anti-Purge candidate, Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell).  To be rid of her, the New Founding Father eliminate the rule that protects government officials from the Purge.  Not wanting to ruin her image by going into hiding, Roan elects to stay at her home, much to the chagrin of her security leader, Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), the protagonist from Anarchy.  Two members of Roan's campaign team betray her to the New Founding Fathers and a team of white supremacist mercenaries are sent to kill her.  Roan and Barnes escape and flee into the Purging streets of Washington D.C.  They join up with deli owner Joe Dixon (Mykelti Williams) and his employee, Marcos Dali (Joseph Julian Soria), who are defending the deli from Purgers, as well as Laney Rucker (Betty Gabriel), who spends the Purge in an armored ambulance helping the injured.  They have to work together to keep Roan alive so she can be elected President and put a stop to the Purge once and for all.

What Works:

Out of the three Purge film, Election Year has easily the most compelling narrative.  Like in Anarchy, most of the movie takes place in the streets of a city, which is awesome, but we also get a much larger story.  This isn't just about a group of people trying to survive, it's about putting a stop to the purge.  The stakes are higher and it was a much better story to get invested in.  I wanted to see the New Founding Fathers go down and I was very invested in Roan's survival.

Like I mention earlier, this film is similar to Anarchy it it's location, which is great.  Election Year takes the best parts of Anarchy and adds a story too it.  And it doesn't lose the awesomeness of the Purge in the process.  We get some really insane and memorable Purgers with the murder tourists and Kimmy's gang, which may be my favorite group of Purgers in the whole series.  The way they decorate their cars is just fantastic.

Speaking of Anarchy, it's great to have Leo Barnes back.  He isn't really the protagonist this time, that's mostly Joe Dixon, but he gets a ton to do and is in the center of most of the action.  He's a great character and highly capable.  This guy can get crap done and that's very refreshing in a movie like this.  Even better is the fact that the supporting characters are also very capable.  Barnes doesn't have to babysit this entire movie.  These characters can all take care of themselves and rely on each to make it through the night, and that's a huge plus over the last film.

As a huge fan of Lost, I was very excited to see Elizabeth Mitchell in this film.  She's a great actress and does a wonderful job of making me want to vote for her.  Her backstory is disturbing, but she doesn't let that control her.  She holds her own during the Purge and though she isn't as experienced in violence as someone like Barnes, she isn't useless by any means.  The point of this movie is to keep her character alive and she's such a likable character that it was easy for me to get on board.  I wanted her live and end this madness.  I love the way she stands up to her opponent and she, along with Barnes, are easily the best characters of the first three movies.

What Sucks:

I only have one issue with this film and that is with the scene in Joe's deli just after he and Marcos rescue Roan and Barnes.  The interactions between Joe and Barnes felt very repetitive and got annoying quickly, with Barnes being blunt and Joe taking offense and telling him to be respectful.  It doesn't add anything and doesn't go anywhere.  Fortunately, this doesn't continue after they leave the deli as a whole movie of this would have been unbearable.  So, it's just one scene, but it is annoying.

Verdict:

The Purge does it again with another solid entry.  The Purgers are awesome, we have solid, capable characters, and the best story of the series.  Even with one very annoying scene, I think this is the best of the first three films, and Election Year has absolutely got it going on!

 9/10: Great