Great idea ... not so great execution.

Rating: 4/10 (4 July 2013)

Although The Purge has one of the more interesting plots/concepts for a movie that I have come across lately, the film never fully delivers on its promises of originality or (high) suspense and the movie left me feeling more disappointed and let-down than anything else.
Disappointment is never a good feeling to have upon exiting a theater because it means the recently watched film has failed (somewhere, somehow). This is not saying The Purge does not have some good ideas because it does ... the film just does not live up to its adrenaline-pumping expectations following that creepy-spooky trailer that had people (like myself) muttering the three letters W, T and F with some stress on the F.
The premise is actually a good one as it "echoes" the (year) 2000 Japanese import, Battle Royale, and also the young-adult/box office sensation -- and best-selling book -- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Although the films (and their stories) are nothing alike, they share a central concept with one another: a future dystopian society subjugates and controls their populations by offering-up a (voluntary in some cases) means of violent, no-holds-barred, winner-takes-all crowd-control as a way of keeping order.
In The Purge, Americans are graciously given 12 hours to kill, steal, abuse, pillage, maim or commit any number of carnal base sins he/she deems desirable with no questions asked (afterwards). This one night exists as a way of hopefully getting animalistic urges out of a person's system. It is because of the Purge that ALL other hours of the year are peacefully controlled and organized in order to maintain a high level of security and safety (there are no cops or other safety personnel on call during the 12-hour window). Just as there are "no questions asked" in the movie, the audience isn't supposed to ask a whole lot either.
Ethan Hawke (Before Sunrise, Gattaca) and Lena Headey ("Game of Thrones", 300) play a married couple with two teenage children who are facing the Purge head-on by locking down their house (he has made a fortune in the home $ecuritie$ industry) and settling in for a long evening hoping they live to see the sun rise on the other side of night ... only it is The Purge and people oftentimes will make plans for something he/she is unable to complete. When a helpless stranger is heard calling for help (after the clock has already begun), nobody knows who can be trusted.
The Purge has a very smart and intriguing idea at its core (the writer-director deserves much credit for this), but the inexperienced direction by DeMonaco makes The Purge almost as messy and chaotic as an actual Purge would be. It is too bad because there is a lot of potential here. Perhaps don't expect as much as I did ... and there won't be as much disappointment (as I believe the film does not deserve to be disliked).