The Purge: Anarchy

By: Robert Murphy

When I first laid eyes on The Purge about a year ago, I was excited to see a film that had such a great idea going for it where the United States finally solved it's problem with job employment, civil unrest and various other issues plaguing us at the moment. The results after the first film though weren't what I expected, it played more off the role of the well to do side of the purge where wealthy people hid behind fancy security systems, high fences and enormous homes. The Purge: Anarchy however, brings what I had hoped for from the film showing just what happens to those unfortunate enough to be trapped in the unsafe chaos that is purge night. The poor and somewhat middle class are not so lucky on purge night because they cannot afford the protection needed to survive the night and this shows the ugly side to America's new success found through the ashes of purging. This America isn't all it's cracked up to be for everyone it seems and you'll find out just how wrong it can all go for the people being hunted. 

The story as I said takes the action to the streets this time around and their are oh so many different kinds of hunters out on the streets to see. Many people enjoy the rush of purging for the most part, even the aspect of dying doesn't really seem to faze many of them as they all take to the streets, armed to the teeth with various weapons and tools of their trade. It was particularly enjoyable to see all the unique figures hidden among the film, some were a bit religious in their slaughter, others created crazy dune buggies heavily armored and even more mysterious were some strange looking semi trucks with high tech gear inside. The unfortunate people being hunted tonight meet with a bit of bad luck as their car stales, some foul play may be involved and Shane (Zach Gilford) and his wife Liz (Kiele Sanchez) are stranded in the streets fleeing for their lives. In their attempts to survive they come across a gruff man Sergeant (Frank Grillo) who is also armed to the teeth out on purge night but has appeared to be a guardian angel, saving them and Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and her daughter Tanya (Justina Machado) from God knows what kind of torture. Whatever their reasons, the five end up being grouped together in their attempts to survive the remaining time left till sun rise but this night will be something that never wants to end. 

Now while I should be over the moon that I finally received the purge movie that I always wanted from the first time I saw the trailer for the original, I just wasn't pleased by what it turned out to be. I said earlier that I enjoyed the purging and the unique ideas placed on the characters who were out hunting, it all becomes moot when you see that that is all their is to it, they're cool and then they die or we move to a new scene. The main characters spend their time somehow avoiding the insane amount of bullets flying then jumping to the next scene as they walk one by one often trying to squeeze out some poor dialogue. The somehow super soldier Sergeant character, who is dressed like he's from The Matrix, seemingly knows everything about purge night and how to survive every encounter their little group comes across, it's almost like he sees everything coming a mile away and makes things feel staged, the poor acting doesn't help too much either though. The other characters are just there, literally they stand their through the film for the most part trying to force an awkward conversation into each brief moment of no gunfire. They all do have their own stories but as quickly as they were introduced they're forgotten such as Eva's father, Rico (John Beasley) being sick and dying and them needing money to pay for the medicine, it gets dropped about twenty minutes into the film.

I know that you can't expect much of a story with a movie like The Purge: Anarchy but even when you look at the guts and gore of the film, you don't feel like you're enjoying what is happening. There isn't a whole lot of fun that went into the writing of the script for this film, it was just a bunch of flash without the bang it needed to really shine. There were a good amount of ideas that were apart of the film that I liked such as the propaganda campaigns strewn throughout the story featuring an anarchist to the purge Carmelo (Michael K. Williams). If only some of the good ideas in the film came into the lime light a bit more then there really might have been something to The Purge: Anarchy but sadly that isn't the case and hopefully someone picks up the pieces and makes something great out of all this mess one day. 

Good:

- An improvement to the last film

- Crazy hunters who are out on purge night were pretty cool

- Has some good ideas and potential hidden away in it

Bad:

- Has no sense of direction with it's story

- Very poor acting on all the main cast part

- Action seemed staged when it came down to the main characters being attacked

- The gore, guts and grit are lack luster and all flash with no follow through 

Scully Rating: 4.5 out of 10 

DMC: Devil May Cry Review

The long wait is over.  If you're like me, you've been eagerly, but cautiously, awaiting the release of Ninja Theory's reboot of the popular Capcom series.  Dante is back, but he's sporting some new attitude and looks that help mark that this is a new Dante.  Along with the looks, the story is changed too.  This time around, Dante is not a Demon-human hybrid; he's a Nephilim: A demon-angel hybrid.  This means Dante will not only be using those demon abilities we've all loved tearing it up with, but no we have angelic powers on top of those.  We also see the return of Dante's twin brother: Vergil.  Vergil is the head of "The Order," a group resisting the Demonic powers that have enslaved the world.  All of the fighting is done in Limbo, a world that exists just outside our own.  This means that in Limbo, things look like the normal world to some extent, but they are shifted and distorted at will by the demons.  And it is only in Limbo that you can see the demons and their devices for what they really are.  For example, a soft drink factory looks normal to the average human; but in Limbo, you see demons having their fluids mixed in with the drink to create a poison to make humans more docile.  The plot revolves around trying to destroy these methods of control, and killing the Devil King: Mundus.  Mundus is responsible for killing Dante's mother and exiling his father, and is the main antagonist in the story. 

For starters, I loved the gameplay. The combat mechanics offer easy switching between your Rebellion sword, angelic weapon of choice, and your demonic weapon of choice.  There are only a couple demon and angel weapons, but they offer a lot of combat variety to approach each encounter and prevent the missions from feeling stale.  All fights are backed up by a great soundtrack featuring some Metal tracks. If you don't like Metal, then you might want to invest in ear plugs; but this game is about killing demons with excessive violence, so the music feels appropriate.  Enemies force you to change tactics to adapt to ever-changing situations.  The game keeps the encounters feeling fair on the standard difficulties; enemies offer just enough opposition to keep the game from feeling easy.  Once you beat the game, you unlock the higher difficulties.  These modes are not to be taken lightly, since they consider you already beat the game.

The plot is stronger than any of the old DMC games, which focused more on the action and the humor.  While those things are obviously still strong in this game, there was a clear attempt to strengthen the plot, and make you feel like you have a more personal reason to be killing demons.  It is also clear that this game took a rather confrontational stance on contemporary society, with demons using soft drinks, banking, and popular culture to enslave humanity.  This kind of has a "Fight Club" feel to it, saying that modern society is a means to weaken humans and prevent them from realizing their potential.  If you don't appreciate those types of themes, then the story might turn you off, but the good news is the story isn't THAT important.  You spend most of your time just focusing on the action.

Now for the part that has led to a lot of controversy for this game: characters.  Dante has a new look, and a new haircut.  He still has a lot of funny dialogue, but the difference is very obvious right from the start.  Dante is more of a street punk in this game, a clear difference from the suave, detached Dante we're accustomed to.  Vergil is also back, but his character is even more different than Dante.  Vergil is one of my favorite characters from the original series, and it just broke my heart watching him in this game.  The old Vergil was ruthless, independent, and a loner with a personal code of honor.  This new one works with humans, and lacks that ruthless streak that made me respect the old character.  There is a lot of the old Vergil here, more than you might think, enough to let me appreciate him, but not enough to consider him a worthy replacement.  The Order has a woman named Kat who helps Dante in Limbo, and her character was likeable, but not extensive or remarkable. 

The Verdict?  This is a great game that had me addicted with the awesome gameplay and great environments.  This title helps revitalize the franchise and give it a fresh start with a compelling story and interesting characters.  If you have never played a Devil May Cry title, then you will probably love this game without reservation.  If you are a veteran DMC fan, then you may find this game a difficult, but necessary, step forward.  Devil May Cry 4 showed that the franchise had just about run out of life in terms of story, and this game helps give it a fresh start.  However, many (including myself) may find that this title makes you long for the original characters you knew and loved.

(Game reviewed on Xbox 360)

Good:

- Combat is awesome with an easy-to-use, dynamic combo system

- Stronger story that feels more believable than the previous titles

- Fresh start helps bring new life to the franchise

- Awesome soundtrack that sets the mood and makes the combat that much more satisfying

Bad:

- New characters can't quite substitute the old ones that veteran fans know and love

- Could have done more with the plot, but compared to the old DMC games you can't really complain

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10