Why The First Purge doesn't quite work

Human nature does not obey the laws of politics. So says sociologist Dr. May Updale when asked why people are partying instead of purging during The First Purge. But what are the laws of politics if not an expression of collective human nature?

People are bastard coated bastards with bastard filling.

Dr Perry Cox

In my own cynical view this is why the politics can be so nasty. Humans are often nasty. But we are also social creatures who, for the most part, aren't big fans of killing each other. Yes, some cultures throughout history have been more bloodthirsty than others. It is conceivable that some theoretical future American culture could reach a point where a day of murder and mayhem might become appealing to the masses. Conceivable but not very believable.

This was also a problem in the original Purge movie, though it was easier to ignore. In that film the Purge was presented as a well established fact of life. We are told that the crime rate is near zero, so somehow the Purge must have worked. We didn't have to think too much about how such a law would come into being. In The First Purge that question is central to the story and the answers it provides fail the sniff test.

This is exemplified by the aforementioned character Dr. May Updale, played by Marisa Tomei. She is the architect of the experiment on Staten Island that comes to be known as The Purge. She cooks it up for the "New Founding Fathers of America" politician Arlo Sabian, played by Patch Darragh to test her crackpot theory that if people were allowed to do anything they wanted for a day they'd get it out of their system and stop doing crime for the rest of the year.

As if this idea isn't already nuttier than a Planters factory, the measure of success for the experiment will be based on how many people get violent. The more the better. And just to make sure the results can't even accidentally resemble real science, participants are paid more money for being more violent. Dr. Updale has no problem with this totally ethical and not at all corrupting influence on participants' behavior. She has no problem encouraging poop people to murder each other while the rest of the nation watches the livestream and eats popcorn.

Warning: mild spoilers incoming.

Yet, when she discovers that Trump Sabian has hired militant white supremacists to wage war on the island to ensure the Purge is sufficiently violent, the good doctor inexplicably develops a conciseness. She was cool with everything up to this point but for some reason considers using these outsiders to be cheating.

Dr. Updale's moral code is just as incomprehensible as the political rational behind the experiment. The First Purge's effort at social commentary just can't bear the weight of the premise.

Still, the action is enjoyable enough, if not what I would call innovative. There is a bit of humor though it could use a lot more. If it were funnier one might be less inclined to take the film seriously, which would make it more enjoyable.