The First Purge Review: 2 Ups & 7 Downs

1. The Amusingly Unsubtle Social Commentary

These movies get zero points for subtlety, but The First Purge does get a small sliver of credit for leaning into the peak insanity of Trump-era America, by rolling it into the movie's general social commentary of a divided United States.

There are countless references to the Black Lives Matter movement, the NFFA is effectively attempting to "Make America Great Again", and there's even an outrageously on-the-nose moment where Nya gets caught in a trap and has her crotch grabbed by an assailant (who she calls a "p***y-grabbin' motherf***er").

Though the movie doesn't go as far as introducing a Trump substitute caricature, his presence is felt throughout the film even if he's not explicitly featured or named.

The film definitely could've taken things much further in this regard and it mostly feels like a gloss for the action above all else, but it's still a giggle to see the movie taking such loaded pot-shots at America's current social ills.

What did you think of The First Purge? Shout it out in the comments!