This leads Leo and Senator Roan, along with a market owner named Joe (Mykelti Williamson) and his employee Marcos (Joseph Julian Soria), into the streets of Washington D.C. Members of The New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA), the people who established the annual Purge event, conspire to eliminate the Senator. Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo), returning from the second installment of these films, is now in charge of protecting Senator Roan so that she can make it to election day. Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), who has a tragic connection with The Purge, is now the leading Presidential contender with a strong anti-Purge movement to follow. The Purge, a night where all criminal activity - including murder - is allowed, is a coveted right for Americans but also a death sentence for those not privileged with affording protection. Director James DeMonaco, who has directed all three of the films in the franchise, has grown his dystopian vision from a small home invasion film, into a full blown city of chaos, and finally into a global conspiracy at the highest levels. While “The Purge: Election Year” squanders many opportunities to provide insight through its exploitation, the moments that it does utilize connective social commentary are effectively startling and stimulating. Social commentary in genre films is nothing new, George Romero, director of “Night of the Living Dead”, has done it exceptionally well in his zombie trilogy. It’s this aspect, along with a clever marketing campaign utilized during the election year, which makes this third installment in the franchise far more interesting than it otherwise might have been. It’s during these specific times that my frustration with the political machine turns the most negative and disheartened, making a film like “The Purge: Election Year” seem more true-to-life rather than a work of fantasy. Turn to any television network over the next few months and the height for political dissension in America will be at its most aggressive levels. Starring: Elizabeth Mitchell, Frank Grillo, Joseph Julian Soria, Betty Gabriel, Edwin Hodge, and Mykelti Williamson
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