Film Review: Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day – Dir. by Troy Duffy
November 20th, 2009 Filed under: Reviews - Film by admin
Film Review – Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
Directed by Troy Duffy
Maple Pictures/Sony Pictures
The MacManus brothers, Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus), are back in Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day, a long awaited sequel to 1999’s cult classic, Boondock Saints.
With a brilliant mind like Duffy’s sitting in wait with gems like this, it’s a wonder studios keep hiring Michael bay to ruin movies. A full decade in the making, writer/director Troy Duffy doesn’t disappoint, with a sequel more thrilling than the original, packed full of everything we have come to expect, as we once again follow the explosive lives of the MacManus brothers.
After eight years of as fugitives, living the quiet life, and hiding out on a farm in Ireland with their father (Billy Connolly), the good brothers are violently called back to Boston when an assassin, hired by Mob-Boss Concezio Yakavetta, son of the late ‘Papa’ Joe Yakavetta, murders a catholic priest in cold blood, framing the saints. With vengeance on their minds the brothers hop a freighter across the Atlantic, and the saints trademark style of holy justice, once again takes the city by storm. In search of retribution, and a mysterious old man known only as ‘The Roman’
Noah ‘Papa’ MacManus, aka Il Duce takes a back seat during most of the action, but gives us a welcome glimpse into his past, showing us the story about how ‘The Duke’ came to be. A young Noah MacManus, an apprentice leather-maker, witnessed the brutal murder of his father at the hands of brutal mobsters when they did not get their way. With the help of his childhood friend Louie, he tracks down those responsible, and takes his revenge.
The sequel sees nearly the whole cast return in one form or another, with deceased saint-sidekick Rocco making several appearances in flashbacks and dreams while Willem Dafoe’s unnecessarily flamboyant FBI agent Paul Smecker is the only main cast member who does not re-join the holy fight, instead making only a small cameo. Smeckers protégé, the alluring Special Agent Eunice Bloom of the FBI, (Julie Benz), takes up the slack as the inside (wo)man.
Some hardcore fans of Boondock Saints may have mixed reactions with Duffy’s decision to somewhat ‘recycle’ the personalities of the missing members of team saints into the two new characters introduced to the franchise. Duffy seemingly implants late sidekick Rocco’s gung-ho personality into the saints new right hand man, Latino tough-guy Romeo (Clifton Collins Jr.), although, arguably a much better shot, where as Special Agent bloom seems to have inherited many of her predecessors quirks, including a knack for making Detective Greenly look like an idiot.
In a world where ‘waiting for the DVD’ is becoming commonplace, BDS II explodes onto the silver screen with an amazing plot masterfully played out by a brilliant cast, and the perfect mix of humour and action that leaves us praying for more.
In nomine Patri. Et Fili. Spiritus Sancti.
sonypictures.com/movies/boondocksaints2
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