15 Unexpectedly Awesome 2014 Movies Everyone Thought Would Suck

14. The Purge: Anarchy

Why It Should Have Sucked: Writer-director James DeMonaco got lucky once with an absurd premise that never should have worked. Would anyone really be interested in seeing the same thing churned out once again? Why It Was Awesome: DeMonaco smartly takes the claustrophobic plot of the original movie and completely turns it on its head, moving the action to the streets and conveying a real sense of scale and mayhem. The unqualified highlight is Frank Grillo as Leo, a lone wolf-type bada** who becomes the hero of the piece, and will hopefully be returning for as many sequels as this series can squeeze out. Above all this, though, The Purge: Anarchy actually expands the mythology of the scenario in an interesting and smartly satirical manner that, believe it or not, actually has many avidly anticipating the upcoming prequel, due for release next summer.