By focusing on the outside world of Purge night, Anarchy is a definite improvement over its predecessor.
Any sequel with the same premise as its predecessor runs the risk of being a little tiresome. This, too, would be the case with the follow-up to last year’s surprise hit, The Purge—that is, if it weren’t so exciting.
This time around, in The Purge: Anarchy, the focus has shifted away from the home invasion set-up of the first film—and it’s a smart decision, too. Rather than being confined to one location, the stakes are automatically raised by allowing the characters to go out into the streets on Purge night. After all, who knows what kinds of lunatics are out and about on the night of the year when all crime is legal (think Halloween night but with machine guns and torches in place of costumes and trick-or-treat bags), looking to commit murder, exact revenge, or just cause mayhem?
Anarchy also expands on many of the concepts brought up in the original film, shining a spotlight on various demographics and class systems, critiquing both government, class, and offering an insight into human nature and the horrible things people will choose to do—for revenge, for love, for fun—if given the opportunity. Whereas the first film was heavy on promises and light on delivery of exploring these ideas, Anarchy really expands on the concept and morality brought up by the Purge itself; and, as a result of this and the film’s inclusion of a central mystery, the suspense never lets up.
Anarchy also uses its open-aired setting to introduce the film’s characters in an interesting way. The film spends some time with each of them (a mother and daughter, husband and wife, and a machine gun-toting stranger), almost in little Purge vignettes, before eventually bringing them all together. Like most horror-thriller hybrids, the characters are somewhat one-dimensional, but they’re given just enough motivation and sympathetic qualities that you want to see them make it through Purge night.
By overcoming the mistakes of its predecessor, The Purge: Anarchy has proven that there’s viable potential (and material) for a Purge franchise; and, with the plot threads seen in the film, it seems like we’ve barely scraped the surface of the suspense and story possibilities that Purge night has to offer.
8/10
Reviews from the Couch 
Nice review, Ricky. You pretty much echoed my thoughts on the film. Like you said, in the right hands, The Purge has the chance to be a huge franchise with endless possibilities.
I think the filmmakers redeemed themselves for wasting a potentially interesting idea on the first film.