Title: The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009)Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Clifton Collins, Jr.
Directed By: Troy Duffy
So this is what fans of the original have been waiting 10 years for? Did Troy Duffy consult any of us? I mean, I get it. I don't necessarily condone it, but I get it. A brief explanation is in order...
Troy Duffy is the next Tarantino. That's what we were told in 1999 when the film industry went all aflutter for the script to The Boondock Saints. He got to make his film. His way. And when all was said and done, no one seemed to care anymore. So it was a huge flop. Duffy flamed out in fantastical and almost unprecedented fashion. But then, something interesting happened: liking The Boondock Saints became the "in" thing among certain circles. People went crazy for it and started a cult following that rivaled that of any other film, and eventually, it had made $40 Million in DVD sales. So here we are 10 years later. With funding and a distribution deal and the majority of the original cast and crew attached, Troy Duffy got his second chance and made The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. Would this be the greatest comeback of all time? Would Troy prove Hollywood wrong and make up for lost time with a cinematic masterpiece? Would the MacManus brothers have their moment to shine as some of the greatest characters ever created?
Unfortunately the answer to all three of those questions is a resounding NO. What Duffy did though, was create another fun film with memorable characters doing memorable things. They weren't the MacManus brothers though, they were the supporting cast. Thanks to some uninhibited performances by Julie Benz and Clifton Collins, Jr. the characters of Eunice Bloom and Romeo overshadow the film eclipsing the stale and soggy appearances of Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus. This was a chance for a comeback, and instead it's the new recruits that I would rather spend time with. Perhaps Troy Duffy should've written a story about Romeo picking up where The Saints left off and Eunice hunting HIM down? That might have been something. That way, the cameos (which this movie succeeded at about 50/50) could have been something really special instead of throwaways.
Like I said before, I get it. There are a LOT of little nods to the first film, but sadly that's not enough to save it. In fact, it hurts it. It made me long for the actual involvement I once felt for these characters. I wish they would have been more interesting this time around, or at least had more interesting reasons for doing what they were doing, or even had a more interesting adversary. Sadly though, all of those opportunities are missed.
For fans of the first, you should at least rent this. I can't quite recommend it though, because if you've never seen the first then you really don't have any reason to care about this story at all. Although maybe you'll enjoy Benz and Collins too. I know I really did.
Score: 6.5/10
I don't know...
ReplyDeleteI mean, the sequel comes about eight years too late. I haven't seen this one and only saw the first movie once. It was OK, but it really lost me and I found myself drifting in and out of the film. It just didn't click with me, which is a bit ironic because it seems like it's a movie right up my alley, so even I'm rather puzzled about that one. Other people just eat it up.
I was thinking I should re-watch the first one, but I don't recall it making that big of an impression on me, so I have little inclination. I guess it didn't help that lots of people talked it up, and when it came to be my turn to watch it, I just couldn't see the appeal. Maybe it was just the style it was done in. I realize I might be in the minority here, but Irish Catholics with guns just don't seem to do it for me. No offense to any of the above, of course.