Expectations were high. After 10 years, the much-anticipated sequel to the cult classic Boondock Saints finally crawled out of development hell, made it to the big screen and now onto Blu-ray. The buzz around the sequel, however, seemed largely fan-generated, and hopes were high that this sequel, likely too late, would live up to the original.
Personally, I was skeptical. It's incredibly difficult to imagine a follow-up that could do the original justice, and since this movie had been in the works for so long (heck, there was some speculation that it was going to come out in 2005) that I was afraid that it would, frankly, not be very good. My hopes were sparked, however, when it was confirmed that much of the talent from the original was returning: Troy Duffy, Norman Reedus, and Sean Patrick Flanery. Perhaps some of the magic would be rekindled with all of these names back in the game.
The result was mixed. Some fans thought it was the perfect follow-up, others thought it was horrid. I admit that I fell somewhere in the middle. I enjoyed it as a decent action movie with some fun one-liners, thought it was a fairly acceptable sequel, but, deep down, I think that the franchise would have been perfectly fine without this movie.
In All Saint's Day, fraternal twins Conner (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy MacManus (Norman Reedus) , known as "The Saints," are living a quiet life in Ireland with their father after leaving Boston following their stint as mobster-killing vigilantes. They soon realize that the quiet country life isn't for them and that it's time to clear their names, so they head back to Boston to continue fighting the mob. Around the time of their arrival, a priest is killed in a manner similar to that employed by The Saints (this becomes a revenge motive for the MacManus brothers). FBI Agent Eunice Bloom (Julie Benz) steps in to investigate, working with local detectives (and familiar faces) Duffy (Brian Mahoney), Dolly (David Ferry), and Greenly (Bob Marley). She quickly concludes that the crime was committed by a copycat, but as the crimes become more frequent, it becomes obvious that the real Saints are back in town.
By far, Julie Benz steals the show in every scene she appears in. Though it quickly becomes apparent that she is essentially Willem Dafoe's character Paul Smecker from the first movie, Benz plays a fun, believable character with a sweet southern accent who is "so f*ing smart" that she "makes smart people feel retarded." By the time I was halfway through the movie, I just couldn't get enough of her. The returning characters seem to easily fall back into their roles, particularly Reedus and Flanery. But sadly, it just isn't the same without Willem Dafoe, who was one of the best parts of the first movie. Even though he does make a cameo at the very end (and it implies that he will return in a supposed third movie), it just isn't the same.
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Article comments
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"Around the time of their arrival, a priest is killed in a manner similar to that employed by The Saints" Really, seen the movie myself, and they were still in Ireland at the time, and it was the entire reason they came back.......obviously you werent paying attention. This should have a spoiler alert on it as well since you gave away the damn ending to all the people who havent seen it yet, way to go!