Movie Review: The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
Like its predecessor, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day is a rocking, firework popping action extravaganza that doesn’t add anything deep to the series but what it does is bring us the continuation of a cult classic that after 10 years hasn’t missed a beat.
It would be a disservice to harp on Troy Duffy’s issues getting this film made and the hoops it probably took for him to finally get it off the ground, but like its creator this film is messy, vulgar, violent and completely senseless but in way that’s lovable just like the its cult classic predecessor.
All Saints Day, brings us back together with fraternal twins Murphy (Norman Reedus) and Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery), who managed to escape back home to the hills of Ireland after their justice driven vigilante kill spree throughout Boston. A decade has passed but the drive to rid the world of bad men hasn’t. After a copycat lures the boys back to South Boston, they find that events unfolding have more to do with their own history rather than revenge. Even with the two brothers coming back along with their father, Il Duce (Billy Connolly), the film just seemed slightly different without having Willem Dafoe admist the cast with his flamboyant acting, his humor and dominance on the screen. Instead we are given Special Agent Paul Smecker’s protégé, Eustice Bloom (Julie Benz). Bloom is captivating right away and someone you’d expect to be the protégé of a homosexual FBI agent. She is well dressed and like Smecker, she has a pinache for over the top investigative skills evening donning some pink gloves for the crime scenes. Don’t let her looks and southern brogue fool you as she is deadly as she is hot.
Another new character we are introduced to is Romeo (Clifton Collins Jr.), a Hispanic dock worker who has been a fan of the Saints previous work fighting Mafiosos. Romeo is probably the best thing about the movie in a lot of the same ways Rocco was in the first film. Endearing and motivated, he wants to help the boys with his connections and his severe dislike for the mob ridden underworld. Romeo is different in a lot of ways than Rocco, rather than panicky and chatty, he desperately wants to be liked by the brothers and show them that he can be a saint.
So with all these new characters, the Saints back, what about the movie itself? As a fan I couldn’t have been happier about the film. The movie had many odes to previous jokes in the first movie but expanded upon them giving us new ways to laugh. Perhaps the biggest surprise was our three favorite Boston cops Greenly, Dolly and Duffy (Bob Marley, Brian Mahoney, David Ferry) who have a lot more to do than take notes from Smecker. Unsure of what could happen if Bloom finds out they are in league with the saints their humor combined with their actual predicament made them a lot of fun this time around.
The plot was also a lot more complex than the first film. In the first movie where we had a basic vigilante tale, this movie had to be different, especially with all the time past. Duffy didn’t let any of that get in the way of continuing our heroes adventures while exposing us to some much needed and wanted backstory. Duffy also realizes the importance of making sure your give the fans what they would want in a movie like this 10 years after the fact and boy does he deliver in almost every way you would want.
Boondock Saints II is funny, its entertainment at its best. Anytime you can have a botched assassination attempt go completely wrong only to work in your favor such as sliding off the side of building and using “rope” ( a funny moment for fans who remember the importance of rope) to bust through a window to then slide on your knees, double pistoling while riddling bad guys with bullets! How could you hate that in a movie? Sure it’s all one big suspension of disbelief but that is why we have fun with the movies. Troy Duffy delivers the epitome of a movie that is all rock n roll and fireworks complete with sex jokes, racial jokes and cop humor, tons of cool movie references and just full on explosive action. Duffy once again tells a lot of his story through the non-linear “here’s-what-happened” flashbacks and gives some major movie love to Hong Kong cop films, even going as far as quoting everything from The Godfather to Titanic to Basic Instinct. There is even a scene where one of the head mafia guys played by Judd Nelson circles a table of other crime underbosses, much like DeNiro in The Untouchables, instead of hitting a surly member over the head with a baseball bat bluggering him to death, he decides to use a nice thick piece of Italian sausage, breaking the guy’s jaw. All Saints Day will, if nothing else, continue to be a cult item for fans not lucky enough to see it their local theater but what is cool is that the next sequel, is blatantly set up and hopefully will arrive a lot sooner than this one did.
Total Score: 8 out 10
