For such a big concept, this is actually a lot closer to what I was hoping the first movie would have been. And yet, I'm still wishing such an interesting concept was in better hands. Sure, it's entertaining, but it could be so much more, and it's the missed potential that stings a little. For anyone that has spent some time with the horror and thriller genres, a lot of the movie's scenarios will feel very familiar, which is disappointing when the concept feels anything but ordinary - "Judgment Night" (1993) and "The Warriors" instantly came to mind; different concepts, but the cat-and-mouse of 4 or 5 characters trying to survive a lethal night in the city plays very similarly.

Besides Frank Grillo's character, the rest of the characters feel forgettable. If the scenarios are going to feel so familiar, it would have been nice to have great characters (or villains, for that matter) to push it in more unique territory. The social commentary also feels a couple of decades too late, and didn't really feel anything but archaic to me - A surefire cult classic had it come out in the 70s, 80s, or even early 90s, which makes me almost wish John Carpenter had thought of the concept in his prime.

Now, when I say that I wish this concept was in better hands, I think of Danny Boyle and "28 Days Later", which is practically just 4 or 5 characters trying to survive lethal nights in the city. He took an exhausted zombie/infected concept, and made an exciting, interesting, thoughtful, and memorable movie with it; and he did it with less resources than what The Purge: Anarchy was afforded. That's the kind of talent I'd love to see behind the camera of a Purge movie.

The movie is entertaining, but I think the concept deserves better. Again, it's such an interesting concept.