Critical Condition: The Purge

The Purge | Amazon Prime Video, from Wednesday

➢➢ “The Purge bills itself as a ’10-episode event,’ which at least pretends it’s not nakedly gunning for a second season of limitless violence, and that’s a good thing. That does not mean USA’s adaptation of the film franchise — which introduced us to the titular 12-hour holiday when all crime (but almost entirely murder) is legal — makes the viewer wish it was over sooner; on the contrary, it’s pretty enjoyable. And let’s face it, it’ll probably return.” — TV Guide.

➢➢ “Written and produced by creator James DeMonaco, the opening episodes are plagued by a hit-miss quality, suggesting that not all Purge-related stories are created equal. The show also has a certain Black Mirror feel — or at least aspires to that — as the various players prepare for what’s to come, connected by a tension-building onscreen countdown with graphics like ’97 minutes to Purge.'” — CNN.

➢➢ “Cynical, nihilistic and exploitative, The Purge heads to the small screen with its basic flaws and fitfully engaging world-building intact … The part of me that wants to keep watching The Purge for more world-building details is likely to lose out to the part of me that, after nearly a third-of-a-season, doesn’t care about the fate of a single one of the show’s characters.” — The Hollywood Reporter.

➢➢ “At best, The Purge is a generic, broadly appealing thriller with enough obvious socio-political commentary to act as a welcome guide to the better, more incisive movies. At worst, it’s yet another example of filmmakers treating TV like a garbage dump for rejected movie ideas unworthy of fleshing out for the big screen. To say television deserves better is obvious, so instead let’s remember The Purge deserves better, too.” — IndieWire.

➢➢ “How seriously can we take The Purge’s critique of class division when the series so garishly embraces the very thing its monsters do, too? … The thing that keeps The Purge from becoming the great bit of social horror it seems to be striving towards is how painfully underthought the relationship between subject and viewer is.” — Variety.