Great concept, indifferent execution

Rating: 5/10 (26 February 2015)

As some other reviewers have mentioned, the concept behind THE PURGE is great: a futuristic America, where society is peaceful except for one night a year where all crime is made legal. Sadly, instead of exploring the moral concept behind that premise, THE PURGE turns out to be nothing more than a middle-of-the-road home invasion flick.
Now, I like home invasion flicks, and director James DeMonaco is obviously a fan of siege-based movies having previously helmed the ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 remake (also with Ethan Hawke). Sadly, this one misses the mark by quite a wide berth, despite obvious nods to the likes of STRAW DOGS. The first hour is particularly dull, consisting of characters wandering about with torches and not doing much. I also chuckled at the way it takes the characters a full hour to come to their moral senses.
Hawke and Lena Headey aren't bad actors but they play a pair of very unlikeable characters here, so the viewer can never empathise with their plight. The villains are more effective, but under-utilised, and other than some well-handled action and violence in the last half hour this really isn't much to write home about. The weak writing kills it unfortunately, which is a pity because this could have been so much better in so many respects.