54
Metascore
39 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 81TheWrapWilliam BibbianiTheWrapWilliam BibbianiThe First Purge completely earns its action-packed and rousing finale, but getting there certainly takes a while.
- 75ConsequenceRandall ColburnConsequenceRandall ColburnThe First Purge is every bit as nakedly, hysterically symbolic as its predecessors. But if there’s one thing that the current political climate is teaching us, it’s that a subtle touch isn’t always the solution.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThe most politically potent sci-fi/horror film series since the early years of George A. Romero gets a bloody, visceral and yes, emotional prequel with The First Purge, the movie that tells how we got from “here” to “there.”
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliBoiling off the divisive political subtext and its associated sociological aspects, what we’re left with is an old-fashioned exploitation thriller. Seen in that context, The First Purge isn’t half-bad. It’s competently made, delivers its share of thrills and edge-of-the-seat moments, and gives the audience an opportunity to stand up and cheer.
- 50VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe First Purge is a slipshod B-movie comic book rooted in gangbanger clichés. It’s a threadbare “Boyz N the Hood” meets “Lord of the Flies.”
- 50It knows what year it’s coming out — on July 4, no less — and it’s slamming on every hot button it can find. That might be cathartic. It might also be turning pain into entertainment. With The First Purge, your mileage may vary.
- 45Film Journal InternationalRebecca PahleFilm Journal InternationalRebecca PahleThe film does mix up the formula in some ways. Unfortunately, these changes are by and large for the worse. It edges away from horror and more towards action, favoring shootouts to scares. The latter are in short supply.
- 40The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeClumsy attempts at comedy are weaved in to try and alleviate the remarkable grimness but all it really does it add to an uneven tone.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeDespite the assistance reality continues to give it, making an annual rite of government-sanctioned racial violence seem less far-fetched by the day (or by the tweet), Gerard McMurray's The First Purge still fails to establish a persuasive connection to our own moment in time — its occasional winks to current events serving as limp zingers instead of stinging commentary.