Movie Review: Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
12/7/2009
By Daniel Pickles
Staff Writer
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009)
Directed By: Troy Duffy
Starring: Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flannery, Billy Connolly, Clifton Gonzales
Rated: R
Run-Time: 118 Mins.
Back in 2001 when I saw the first Boondock Saints, I loved it. It’s a rare thing for me to get amped-up over an action movie. I’ve never cared much for the Lethal Weapons and Die Hards of the world, but Boondock Saints had that certain something that set it apart from its peers. The characters were likable (even if they were killers), the plot was interesting, and the story structure was innovative. It certainly wasn’t a perfect movie, but it was something you could love despite its flaws.
A wise man once said: “No one wants to see something they love torn apart and peed on by wild animals.” I’m no exception. When I heard there was going to be a sequel to Boondock Saints, I got a little scared.
The film’s director, Troy Duffy, was recently featured in a documentary (it’s called Overnight, by the way, and I recommend it) that portrayed him in a very unflattering light; to put it in the simplest of terms, it portrayed him in a light that made him look an awful lot like an animal that would tear apart and pee upon things, if given the opportunity. Fortunately, it appears that my worries were unfounded.
All Saints Day begins eight years after the end of Boondock Saints. A priest is murdered and the killing is made to look as though it was carried out by the heroes of the first film, the vigilante MacManus brothers (Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flannery). Naturally, the brothers - who are currently on the lamb (farm!) in Ireland - must return to Boston to punish those who would dare besmirch their righteous reputations. On the way, they make a new friend to help them resume their mission of cleaning Boston’s streets with a renewed vigor.
To start the actual review part of things, let’s talk about what’s bad. First, there is the film’s sense of humor. There are many genuinely funny spots, but at times it lapses into jokes that would be all too common in most middle school locker-rooms. As a lifelong nerd that’s often been forced to deal with the very people that embrace these jokes, I’ll be the first to tell you – this humor has overstayed its welcome.
Machismo and proclamations of “not in a gay way!” don’t entertain me, and I hope they don’t entertain you. I might sound prudish; I’m not, trust me. I enjoy corpse jokes, toilet humor, maybe even the occasional disgusting metaphor – but let’s have a little finesse, shall we? If you find yourself repeatedly returning to sexual orientation for your joke material, consider a new line of work.
To the film’s credit, I find that there’s an undeniable appeal in stories that involve people taking the law into their own hands. In a world riddled with crime and all around unpleasantness (according to the media, at least), I think the idea of two brothers standing up against the varying scums of the world is a fun – if not a bit fairy-tale – premise.
It’s not a new idea by any stretch of the imagination; some similar, recent endeavors include The Dark Knight, Watchmen, or any number of comic-book adaptations. The difference is that the Boondock Saints ups the ante a bit by making its protagonists people, like you and I, rather than masked, vigilante super-heroes.
I would venture to guess that many of you reading this already know that the world is never as simple as the good vs. evil scenarios that the Boondock Saints and our comic book friends would have us believe. Nevertheless, it can be therapeutic to indulge your desire to watch some baddies get thrashed by the righteous hand of the hero – and All Saints Day delivers that therapy in spades. We both know it’s not moral to do what the Saints do, but that’s okay. Sometimes the prescription calls for pure entertainment, and at those times immorality is the best medicine.
As a side note, I think that the title of my first book might be “Immorality is the Best Medicine.” Look for it in bookstores sometime in the far, far future.
Directed By: Troy Duffy
Starring: Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flannery, Billy Connolly, Clifton Gonzales
Rated: R
Run-Time: 118 Mins.
Back in 2001 when I saw the first Boondock Saints, I loved it. It’s a rare thing for me to get amped-up over an action movie. I’ve never cared much for the Lethal Weapons and Die Hards of the world, but Boondock Saints had that certain something that set it apart from its peers. The characters were likable (even if they were killers), the plot was interesting, and the story structure was innovative. It certainly wasn’t a perfect movie, but it was something you could love despite its flaws.
A wise man once said: “No one wants to see something they love torn apart and peed on by wild animals.” I’m no exception. When I heard there was going to be a sequel to Boondock Saints, I got a little scared.
The film’s director, Troy Duffy, was recently featured in a documentary (it’s called Overnight, by the way, and I recommend it) that portrayed him in a very unflattering light; to put it in the simplest of terms, it portrayed him in a light that made him look an awful lot like an animal that would tear apart and pee upon things, if given the opportunity. Fortunately, it appears that my worries were unfounded.
All Saints Day begins eight years after the end of Boondock Saints. A priest is murdered and the killing is made to look as though it was carried out by the heroes of the first film, the vigilante MacManus brothers (Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flannery). Naturally, the brothers - who are currently on the lamb (farm!) in Ireland - must return to Boston to punish those who would dare besmirch their righteous reputations. On the way, they make a new friend to help them resume their mission of cleaning Boston’s streets with a renewed vigor.
To start the actual review part of things, let’s talk about what’s bad. First, there is the film’s sense of humor. There are many genuinely funny spots, but at times it lapses into jokes that would be all too common in most middle school locker-rooms. As a lifelong nerd that’s often been forced to deal with the very people that embrace these jokes, I’ll be the first to tell you – this humor has overstayed its welcome.
Machismo and proclamations of “not in a gay way!” don’t entertain me, and I hope they don’t entertain you. I might sound prudish; I’m not, trust me. I enjoy corpse jokes, toilet humor, maybe even the occasional disgusting metaphor – but let’s have a little finesse, shall we? If you find yourself repeatedly returning to sexual orientation for your joke material, consider a new line of work.
To the film’s credit, I find that there’s an undeniable appeal in stories that involve people taking the law into their own hands. In a world riddled with crime and all around unpleasantness (according to the media, at least), I think the idea of two brothers standing up against the varying scums of the world is a fun – if not a bit fairy-tale – premise.
It’s not a new idea by any stretch of the imagination; some similar, recent endeavors include The Dark Knight, Watchmen, or any number of comic-book adaptations. The difference is that the Boondock Saints ups the ante a bit by making its protagonists people, like you and I, rather than masked, vigilante super-heroes.
I would venture to guess that many of you reading this already know that the world is never as simple as the good vs. evil scenarios that the Boondock Saints and our comic book friends would have us believe. Nevertheless, it can be therapeutic to indulge your desire to watch some baddies get thrashed by the righteous hand of the hero – and All Saints Day delivers that therapy in spades. We both know it’s not moral to do what the Saints do, but that’s okay. Sometimes the prescription calls for pure entertainment, and at those times immorality is the best medicine.
As a side note, I think that the title of my first book might be “Immorality is the Best Medicine.” Look for it in bookstores sometime in the far, far future.
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