The Forever Purge

Undoubtedly the “best” of the Purge sequels, The Forever Purge follows several characters, including Josh Lucas’ Dylan and Ana de la Reguera’s Adela, as they’re forced to fend for their lives after the series’ annual night of mayhem is extended indefinitely by various groups of vicious criminals. There’s little doubt, ultimately, that The Forever Purge fares best in its briskly-paced and surprisingly entertaining opening stretch, as filmmaker Everardo Gout, working from James DeMonaco’s screenplay, does an effective job of establishing the movie’s mostly sympathetic characters and stressing their relatively (and comparatively) interesting exploits – with the perfectly watchable atmosphere heightened by the efforts of a better-than-average cast, which includes Will Patton, and the inclusion of a few impressively tense sequences. It’s disappointing to note, then, that The Forever Purge eventually (and perhaps inevitably) segues into a generic, by-the-numbers second half, with the narrative slowly-but-surely dominated by tedious (and hopelessly routine) action sequences that wear out their welcome almost immediately. (Gout does, at least, infuse such moments with a refreshingly coherent sensibility that goes a long way towards staving off the viewer’s total boredom.) By the time the anticlimactic and padded-out finale rolls around, The Forever Purge has cemented its place as a predictably underwhelming installment within a series that has yet to wholeheartedly (or partially) justify its continuing existence.

** out of ****