YMMV / The First Purge

• Anvilicious: The gangs of government hired mercs include a group of Klansmen, a group of Nazis led by a man in an SS overcoat, and one group dressed like cops, who appear only once beating a black man to death with nightsticks. Also, after The Reveal, one of the groups is revealed to be of Russian origin, alluding to the allegations of Russian involvement in Donald Trump's election. Of course, this being a Purge movie, that is part of the fun.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: At one time, Nya and Isaiah were held at gunpoint by some random purger. This purger turned out to be a prankster who is really holding a water gun and sprays them with water before running away laughing maniacally. Also a low-key moment of realism: Not all purgers are violent maniacs. If it had not been for the NFFA's intervention to dramatically turn up the violence, many purgers would be engaging in hedonistic acts, or in the case of Nya and Isaiah's encounter, mean-spirited pranks.
• Complete Monster: Arlo Sabian, Chief of Staff of the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA), is the Greater-Scope Villain of the entire franchise. Having pushed the idea of the Purge through Congress, Sabian oversees the social experiment on Staten Island with the help of Dr. May Updale, manipulating the impoverished communities into staying by offering them money and even more payment if they participate. Frustrated at the lack of purging, Sabian floods the streets with bloodthirsty death squads that specifically target not only the lower-income neighborhoods but also crowded locations, slaughtering everything from block parties to churches and apartment buildings. When Dr. Updale uncovers the truth behind the sudden rise in violent crimes, Sabian has her executed and sends in attack drones to eliminate the local resistance. With the experimental Purge being deemed a success and the NFFA saved from a disaster that could crumble their newly-installed government, Sabian's dirty methods not only allowed them to fully establish their totalitarian regime around the country but also ensured that the Purge became an annual event for the several years to come.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Skeletor has been cited as one of the film’s highlights.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: After the first movie came out, people on the internet have been pointing out that, given a night free from laws of any kind, they would be doing relatively minor crimes — if anything, the most illegal things they'd partake in would be drug-fueled parties and orgies. Then came this film, which showed that this was basically everyone else's initial response, too.
• Magnificent Bastard: Dmitri Cimber is a crime lord who runs his Staten Island empire with an iron fist. When his attempt at staying home for the night of the Purge is interrupted by two assassins, Dmitri fights them off to learn who sent them. When he learns it was one of his own men, Dmitri executes everyone involved before coming into conflict with the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA). Upon learning that the NFFA intend to kill as many people as they can in the Purge, Dmitri arms his gang and takes the fight to them, taking out legions of their soldiers despite being outgunned. Even when his gang is killed and he's left alone, he simply takes on everyone himself with a variety of tactics, managing to defeat all of the mercy sent to destroy his community before the night is over. After surviving the night, Dmitri founds the Anti-Purge Resistance, ensuring the fight continues for the next two decades.
• Nightmare Fuel: While this movie is as narmy as the previous titles in the series, the scene where Nya is almost pulled down to the sewers by a psycho wearing a crying baby doll on his face to rape her is easily the scariest part of this movie. Though, it quickly turns back into pure narm by her calling her attacker a "pussy-grabber".
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: Due to its nature as a prequel. There’s really no point in caring about what happens since we know that the Purge will be made an annual event and won’t be stopped for years later.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Doctor Updale. She came up with the Purge, but in the end experienced regret and an instance of My God, What Have I Done?. Except it wasn't the Purge itself that prompted this, but rather the New Founding Fathers subverting its purpose and employing ringers. She is apparently fine with the Purge and any death and destruction that could result from it (Skeletor, the Freaks, Kimmy's Gang, etc. show that not everyone would just party and commit petty crimes) so long as it is being employed for the "right" reason (society will gradually improve if we encourage everyone to just do whatever they want without fear of consequences for one night a year) and not as a pogrom. It's also that she thinks this taints the scientific results of the experiment, since it wasn't spontaneous.