"The Boondock Saints"

I'm not sure about where you're from, but where I live "The Boondock Saints" (1999) is basically a bible (I think there's a joke there . . .). I have lived in several places in New England, and each one of them people have worshiped this movie. I've never been sure if this was homeland pride, but I accept it. This movie is tremendous. We did not watch the second one, because we don't own it and I didn't much care for it, so why bother tracking it down?

Two Irish brothers (Connor and Murphy) living in Southie (that's South Boston, for those not in the know) accidentally kill two thugs working as strong-arms for the Russian mafia. In their sleep they receive a message from heaven which they believe is telling them it is their job to remove evil from the city. So a pair of vigilantes is born. FBI Agent Smecker follows their work with the "help" of the Boston PD.

The pacing of the movie is phenomenal. We are not overrun with action, but we're also not anxiously waiting the next action scene either. The story between these scenes is quite enjoyable. The acting and writing are both great. Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus almost sound Irish (they're both from the Southern US, by the way). I absolutely love Billy Connolly in everything. Bob Marley delivers every line with pure comedic timing. Willem Dafoe is awesome, and the moments he overacts (which come often) really fit for his character (as do most of Willem Dafoe's overacting scenes). It also leaves us with pictures like this, which are the things of nightmares.

One of the cool things about this movie is we never see the action when it happens. The scenes are "Tarrentino'ed". We don't see the action until Smecker investigates the crime scene. It gives a great setup for each of these action sequences, where we see the outcome which the police are investigating, and then Smecker putting it together from those clues. One of the greatest scenes of the movie is when the hit on the poker game happens, and we see Smecker explaining everything that happens while the action is going on. Its something so simple and small, but it looks great and really works for the movie.

The closing scene of this movie is so powerful. Smecker has enlisted the detectives he's been working with the whole movie to assist the Saints in killing Papa Joe. The lines are delivered with so much emotion, that you can feel the goosebumps start to form as soon as it starts.

I have two big critiques. The first is the use of foreign languages. I love foreign languages being used in movies, but I usually like to know what's being said. There is an entire scene of Papa Joe talking to his thugs where he doesn't speak a word of English and there are no subtitles. Because of the responses you can guess what's going on, but it brings the movie down a bit. The second is the transitioning from scene to scene. "Fade to black" is used in between just about every scene, and it gets old quick.

I do highly recommend this movie. It is most definitely a cult hit. Mostly anyone can enjoy it, and it sure is worth the time. I like it, but I don't worship it like many others do. If you don't trust me, trust Willem Dafoe.