Directed by:
Troy DuffyScreenplay:
Troy DuffyCinematography:
Adam KaneComposer:
Jeff DannaCast:
Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Billy Connolly, David Ferry, Gerard Parkes, Jeanna Fine, Kevin Chapman, Troy Duffy (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Boston, Massachusetts. Home of clam chowder, the Red Sox and Harvard. Home, too, to some of the roughest, toughest criminals ever to walk the streets. When the bungling McManus brothers, Conner (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus), inadvertently end up taking out a pair of Russian Mafiosi, they realise they've found their calling and embark on a mission to cleanse their city of criminals, inspired by the tactics of on-screen vigilantes like Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson. But their vigilante antics soon attract the attention of Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe), an FBI agent with his own unique approach to fighting crime, setting the stage for an epic confrontation that will redefine the words truth and justice. (Arrow Films)
(more)Reviews (9)
Well, I was flabbergasted. This isn't just any ordinary crime/thriller, this is a proper gritty film about two brothers who decide to take justice into their own hands as two saints who are chosen to rid the world of filth. There's also the great Willem Dafoe, who is breathtaking as the policeman. A big surprise!
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Massive surprise. I’d never heard about this film, my colleague Coldrexx recommended it and I couldn’t be more thrilled. The Tarantino style is evident, though not as perfectly honed as with Quentin himself, but still works great. This means a high dose of wisecracks, a lot of blood, weird characters (the best of which is the excellent FBI agent). It’s been long since a film surprised me so much and it’s been long since I laughed so much. Great.
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The story may limp along, the supporting characters can easily be confused with little inattention, and I still haven't deciphered the final message after years (Satire? Warning? Both?), but I don't mind. Symphony of blood, action, and slow-motion shots contains almost everything a genre fan could wish for and it pleasantly engages the viewer throughout. When I add Dafoe's eccentric exhibition, any negative aspects are much harder to find.
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Those were the days when they didn't know how to do comic book stuff yet. If it had the aesthetic of a darker Marvel or normal DC today, it could be a blast. But The Boondock Saints has a bit of a blowhard Ritchie and a bit of a whiny Tarantino, with some solid screenwriting in places, but nothing more. The few interesting moments cannot overcome the utter aesthetic chaos and confusing directorial style. I’d be interested in a remake, because the material does have potential.
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Two self-proclaimed angels of justice are crushed through the grinder of bland "post-Tarantino" dialogue, and it’s not helped by any attempt at a vigorous narrative style. Duffy sets up the whole situation very casually, without emphasis on the absurdity of the plot (one cat can't save it) and the comic hyperbole it draws from. The main duo is accurate, and so is Dafoe’s detective, but they all flounder in a situation that begins and ends with the opening sermon in the church.
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