Two years after choosing not to kill the man who killed his son, former police sergeant Leo Barnes has become head of security for Senator Charlene Roan, the front runner in the next Presidential election due to her vow to eliminate the Purge. On the night of what should be the final Purge, a betrayal from within the government forces Barnes and Roan out onto the street where they must fight to survive the night.
It would be one thing to bait the viewer's blood lust and then punish them for it. But the films command an audience that's enchanted by its displays of blood-drenched yahoos in kooky masks satisfying their barely repressed psychopathy.
– John Semley,
Globe and Mail,
1 Jul 2016
fresh:
The writer/director has a lot to say, but this neo-grindhouse framework isn't built for complexity. Still, the film is just bonkers enough to work.
– Bilge Ebiri,
Village Voice,
1 Jul 2016
rotten:
The Purge: Election Year represents writer/director James DeMonaco's attempt to squeeze one more movie out of a premise that has run dry.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
1 Jul 2016
fresh:
The action is largely routine and the dialogue rarely more than functional, but DeMonaco, marshalling the franchise's best production values yet, shrewdly taps into the angry zeitgeist.
– Michael Gingold,
Time Out,
1 Jul 2016
fresh:
Like most "exploitation movies," the "Purge" franchise is deeply moralistic at heart.