A Good, Solid Movie!

Rating: 6/10 (8 November 2013)

I've heard mixed reviews about this movie, but to satisfy my own curiosity, I decided to give it a whirl for myself. And I'm pleased to say that it didn't disappoint.
Now the very best thing about it, is its originality! No concept like legal anarchy for one night of the year has ever been done before. Not like a lot of modern-day movies who are guilty of stealing ideas from older ones. It's completely original and I love that!
The movie takes you in from the beginning. Scenes of previous "purges" grabbing your attention. Makes you wonder if that footage was taken from real-life events. If they were made for the movie, they did a pretty good job at making them look real. So then you put yourself in Ethan Hawke's position. Asking yourself questions like "how would I protect my house if there was a purge in real life?", "How would I protect my family?" and "How long could we hold on for?". Now the positives of Ethan Hawke's (and his family's) situation, is that he's got a pretty decent sized house with lots of rooms and potential hiding spaces. Of course this is good because it makes it more interesting for the movie. Had he lived in an apartment, the movie wouldn't have lasted very long. So then the chaos unfolds. The intensity constantly rising, keeping me hooked. I'm not wanting to give away too much now because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet.
Could they have made this movie better? Of course they could! The whole movie was basically centered around one main family, one house and their neighbors. The concept is an excellent one for a thriller, and I do think they missed an opportunity by just spending the entire movie about how it affected just one family, and not lots of other ones. But nevertheless, it is a good, solid original movie. The acting was brilliant. Especially the acting of the younger actors.
Six out of ten.