The Purge

The Purge - Dir. James DeMonaco (2013)

"Blessed be the New Founding Fathers for letting us Purge and cleanse our souls, Blessed be America, a nation reborn."

2013 was quite the year for Ethan Hawke. In August, he starred in Getaway, which received some of the worst reviews of the year. Earlier in the year, Hawke also starred in Before Midnight, the third picture in Richard Linklater's critically praised trilogy. While Getaway garnered a paltry 3% on Rotten Tomatoes, Before Midnight landed an impressive 98% and will surely find its way on numerous best-of year end lists. Not to be forgotten is The Purge, a low-budget thriller that came out around the same time as Before Midnight. Although the reviews were lukewarm, The Purge did take in over $87 million at the box office. Quite the haul considering the release date was sandwiched in between Fast and Furious 6 and Man of Steel with Iron Man 3 and Star Trek into Darkness still going strong.

The Purge takes place in the year 2022 as America sees crime rates and unemployment at an all-time low. This is attributed to an annual event known as 'The Purge,' a 12-hour period in which all crime, including murder, is legal. Well, almost all crime. Weapons of mass destruction are off limits and high-ranking government officials are not to be touched. Other than that, anything goes.

Thanks to the Purge, James Sandin (Hawke) has done extremely well for himself by selling high-tech security systems. He's sold quite a few to fellow residents in his affluent suburban neighborhood, enough to build a new addition to his spacious McMansion. As the Purge commences, Sandin puts his home on lockdown and settles in for a quiet night with the wife, Mary (Lena Headey), and kids, Charlie (Max Burkholder) and Zoey (Adelaide Kane). However, Charlie notices a wounded man (Edwin Hodge) outside the house crying for help. Against his father's protests, Charlie lets the stranger in and sets off a deadly chain of events. A gang of masked assailants come knocking to demand the Sandins hand over the "homeless pig" or they will tear down the gates and kill everyone in the house.

The Purge was written and directed by James DeMonaco, who was previously a screenwriter on The Negotiator and the remake of Assault on Precinct 13 that also starred Hawke. As a siege and home invasion picture, The Purge has a lot in common with the original Assault as well as The Strangers with Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. It has all the hallmarks of a B-movie, but DeMonaco seeks to elevate the material with some heavy-handed political rhetoric. The country is under the sway of a group called the New Founding Fathers, an obvious analogue for the Tea Party, and participating in the Purge is seen as a patriotic duty. Of course, the easiest targets are the poor and disenfranchised, such as the stranger, who happens to be black and a veteran. The villains are young, white, and led by a handsome gentleman (Rhys Wakefield) with blue blooded affectations and a prep school uniform.

Wakefield gives a creepy performance and his gaunt frame makes him look like the perfect candidate to play a Batman villain. Hawke and Headey are also good, but the acting and the concept aren't enough to shake off the silliness.

The Purge requires a little suspension of disbelief. Just because people are allowed to cut loose for one day a year, doesn't necessarily mean they'll be law-abiding citizens are the other 364 days. Also, the characters behave in foolish ways that seem to be dictated by whatever is required to progress the story. Characters decide to split up like a bunch of teenagers in a slasher flick. The second act consists of the Sandins searching their home and arguing over what to do with the stranger. At least, the climax is action packed as a free-for-all erupts between the wholesome nuclear family and the bloodthirsty invaders.

The Purge won't be mistaken for serious cinema though it does work as a solid genre piece. The story is simplistic and, at less than 90 minutes, the film moves at a brisk pace.

Rating: ** (*****)

Dredd

Dredd - Dir. Pete Travis (2012)

I'm not completely against reboots and remakes. There are some properties that deserve a second chance. One of them is Judge Dredd, who first appeared in the long running British comic book anthology, 2000AD. The series was set in a dystopian future under the totalitarian rule of the Judges, reflecting the prevailing mood amidst the height of Thatcherism. Dredd himself was a grim and unquestioning servant of the Judge System. He never removed his helmet, owing to his nature as a faceless representation of the law. The 1995 feature film was undone the moment Sylvester Stallone took off the helmet. He ceased to be Judge Dredd and was merely Stallone ("I ahm da law.").

Released under the auspices of Disney's Touchstone banner, Judge Dredd ground the property through the Hollywood machine and churned out a formulaic actioner full of cliches. Gone were the violence and the political commentary, replaced by comic relief sidekicks, romantic interests, and a hammy as hell Armand Assante. In the rich oeuvre of the Italian Stallion, it's no Demolition Man. At least, the production values were high. Judge Dredd did feature strong practical effects, marvelous set designs, and gaudy costumes designed by Gianni Versace. The new Dredd isn't nearly as flashy.

Dredd is set in a dystopian future where the most of the world has been rendered uninhabitable by nuclear war. The survivors of this Cursed Earth live in massive city-states, including Mega City One, located on the Eastern Seaboard. The megalopolis stretches from Boston to Washington D.C. and is policed by an overwhelmed force of Judges with the most infamous being the Judge known as Dredd (Karl Urban). Dredd is paired with a rookie named Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), who has flunked the battery of tests required to be a Street Judge. But, her potent psychic powers, a result of the surrounding radiation, make her an invaluable asset.

Dredd and Anderson respond to a triple homicide at the 200-story tall Peach Trees housing complex and arrest a small-time drug dealer named Kay (Wood Harris). Kay is simply a cog in the machine of Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal (Lena Headey), a scarred crime lord manufacturing a designer drug known as Slo-Mo, which allows the brain to experience reality at 1% speed. Ma-Ma locks the entire building down and unleashes all her minions to kill the Judges.

On the surface, the story of Dredd bares a remarkable resemblance to The Raid: Redemption, one of the best action movies in recent years. However, Dredd doesn't match up to the fight sequences of The Raid. In fact, Dredd tends to get repetitive with one shootout after another and multiple bodies being thrown off high ledges. Director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) does bring a visual flair to the proceedings with help from Oscar-winning cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire). For once, there is a logical reason for the inclusion of slow motion shot at 2500fps on the digital Phantom Flex camera. The slow motion is stunning and highlighted by a saturated color palette. The 3D effects are well done with shattered glass and splattered blood drifting out of the frame towards the viewer. They aren't enough to justify the extra cost of a 3D ticket, but you won't feel completely ripped off. The filmmakers have adapted the look of Dredd into a grittier world rooted in reality. Mega City One is a sprawling landscape of urban decay reminiscent of Children of Men and District 9. The uniforms of the Judges are bulkier and more militaristic in nature. And it wouldn't be Judge Dredd without the presence of the Judges' standard issue Lawgiver, a sidearm with biometric safeguards and programmable ammunition.

Screenwriter Alex Garland is known for crafting smart sci-fi flicks with 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Never Let Me Go on his resume. At one point, he wrote the script for a Halo picture that came to fruition. Dredd isn't exactly as thought-provoking, but it remains faithful to the source material while working within the limitations of a mid-range budget ($45 million). Dredd doesn't delve deeply into the mythology of the comics. Instead, it serves as an introduction while following the formula of a cop drama ala Training Day. The film's measly opening weekend take of $6.3 million may have put the kibosh on Garland's proposed sequels that would have involved more ambitious elements, such as the Cursed Earth and Judge Death, a malevolent being that deemed life as the ultimate crime. A few Easter eggs have been thrown in to please the hardcore fans, including references to Fergee Memorial Park and Chopper the graffiti artist.

The character of Judge Dredd is a difficult one to pull off properly. He is unyielding authority, not a character that goes through a lot of introspective soul searching. Thankfully, Garland never attempts to humanize Dredd. Karl Urban plays the character to a tee, despite having his face obscured by Dredd's trademark helmet. Urban gives him a gruff and gravelly voice without going over-the-top in a Christian Bale sort of way. The film's requisite emotional arc is imparted on Psi-Judge Anderson, who sees the world in shades of gray in contrast to Dredd's myopic, black and white view. Olivia Thirlby is an unlikely candidate to co-star in an action pic, but she ably embodies the heart of the movie. Well, as much heart as a movie where people are skinned alive can allow. Lena Headey is also good as Ma-Ma, a rare instance in which the lead villain is female, though you wish she could have been given more to do.

In terms of comic book franchise reboots, Dredd isn't Batman Begins. It's more like Punisher: War Zone, a stylishly violent improvement that doesn’t fully realize the potential of its property.

Rating: *** (*****)