This was a better than expected movie, and a definite improvement on the original film, though still probably best left unseen until late one night when you spot it showing on cable.
I enjoyed the original film well enough (late at night on cable), though it was largely unremarkable aside from the basic premise and an intense performance from Ethan Hawke. This film doesn't have a single performance quite at that level, but Frank Grillo still makes for a good lead, playing the rugged badass with a heart of...not quite gold, but maybe silver. The film makes good use of its budget (triple the original's) to expand its scope. While the first tried to elevate itself through its concept, it was at heart a home invasion movie, nothing all that original. While I wouldn't go so far as to call this film original, either (it has echoes of--better--dystopian films like "Escape from New York"), it does offer a deeper exploration of the franchise's concept, showing what goes on in a city when all crime is legal for one night. Another improvement over its predecessor: while it does, as is almost required in this genre, feature some its characters behaving foolishly at times, there is no one as outrageously stupid as the son character who was the most annoying part of the first film.
I also appreciated how the film aimed for a little relevance by trying to inject some social commentary into the proceedings. It's not the most nuanced message, but they manage to tie their rich vs. poor dichotomy into the plotline fairly well, actually more smoothly than a lot of "message movie" dramas that beat you over the head with whatever point they're trying to make. I think we're long past the point where the typical horror movie actually has subtle yet profound political messages within it (like the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", "The Thing From Another World", etc.), but I still give the filmmakers credit for having the ambition to try to say something.
In some ways I am even hesitant to classify this as a horror film. I feel that its suspense and thriller elements are stronger than its horror elements. Yes, the genres frequently overlap, but aside from some of the antagonists wearing creepy masks, there wasn't much that screamed flat out "horror". The death count among the main characters is surprisingly low. The film has five main characters and it is takes a very long time for any of them to get shot, and even longer for the first one to die--unheard of for a horror film. While this takes away some of the "someone could die at any moment" factor, it also provides the film with a genuine moment of surprise when there finally is a casualty.
I enjoyed seeing this film in theatres, but I'm also getting my tickets for free. If I was a paying moviegoer, I don't think this would quite be worth a trip to the theatre, unless you're really in the mood for a thriller. Once its out on DVD or cable, though, and you're looking for something to watch on a night in, you could do a lot worse.
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