Glorifying stupidity?

Rating: 3/10 (18 July 2013)

What looked like a somewhat promising thriller turned out to be plain awful, other than the creepy masks the purgers wear, this movie is not even remotely scary. Set in the near future, the United States government legalizes all crimes for a period of twelve hours every year for an event known as "Purge Night". Ethan Hawke plays a man named James Sandin, who has gained a substantial amount of wealth selling security systems to wealthy neighborhoods. The purge has reformed the United States. Crime is at an all time low and the economy is flourishing. Even Sandin's wealthy neighbors take part in the purgefor fun. At home, Sandin is awaited by his trophy wife Mary, played by Lena Heady and his two children, who do a great job at making the worst decisions imaginable and acting like total morons. As the purge begins, the Sandin's lock up as per usual. Later on, as the night falls, James' son Charlie sees an injured man walking down the street and begging for help through the house's security camera and gets an oh so sudden moral obligation to help him. He let's the man into the house. For the sake of the plot, purgers arrive at the Sandin's door.
This film is just, for lack of a better word..retarded! The characters make sudden horrible choices and make the story not only feel cheap, but incredibly stupid. The child actors in this film are horrible and the characters they portray are even worse. I mean (and I know i'm ranting) their father does everything to protect them and they basically spit in his face. The initial concept of "The Purge" seemed genuinely fascinating, but it is presented so badly and over-exaggerated to such extremes that it becomes laughable! Not to mention the horrible production. The blood/gore effects looked like something out of a student film and the cinematography felt like it was for a cheap, and I mean really cheap TV movie and the sound effects for the guns sound like their taken from "Garry's Mod" or some other video game. Ethan Hawke is the only one who delivers a decent performance. Lena Headey is not a bad actress and she could have had an exceptional performance if the plot and her character weren't as dumb. God, I couldn't stand this movie. I know i'm being very critical, but it was just awful! It could only pass as a cheap film that you watch on TV when you have absolutely nothing to do.
"The Purge" is predictable, dumb and annoying. Ethan Hawke gives the only decent performance, but still fails to save the movie in any way. Topped off by a ludicrous plot and horrible visuals, "The Purge" is an example of a interesting idea gone terribly wrong.