The First Purge trailer lacks some color

Going back in time doesn’t have to mean stripping down

The Purge series is, for me, one that gets continually better. The first squandered the premise as a by-the-numbers home invasion film. The second took the series to the streets and opened it wide up for future installments. And the third, Election Year, was a gonzo blast of color, costuming, and comic book violence all wrapped in the most on-the-nose political satire you’d find outside of the actual White House. It just oozed this great patriotic anarchy feeling that I admired.

Now, for a series that has leaped strength-to-strength with each installment, deciding to roll back to a prequel looked like a good idea. People would be less prepared. No one would know what to expect. There could be true chaos across the country. That could be fun to watch.

Unfortunately, the official trailer shows little of that.

The fact that the trailer leans so much on iconography from the previous films is the first bad sign, but even the tone of the story looks like it’s going to focus less on people and more on political conspiracy. It looks dark and militaristic and like a step down from its predecessor.

Oh, it also has Marisa Tomei in it, for some reason. Her role doesn’t look that interesting.

The First Purge will hit theaters on July 4.