"The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" Movie Review (2009)

Movie Review

"The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day"

Written and directed by Troy Duffy, 121 minutes. rated R.

By our guest blogger, Jeremy Wilkinson

Ten years have passed since “The Boondock Saints” was first released. Like any cult classic, the new film, “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day,” has a lot to live up to for fans of the original. Often, it's difficult for a sequel to live up to the first movie.  And so the question now is this:  Is “All Saints Day” as good as the original?

It isn't. It also isn't a bad sequel, either. If you liked the first film, you’ll probably like the second film-- for the most part. Just don’t let your expectations get too high.

In the film, brothers Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) have been in Ireland with their father (Billy Connolly) for the past eight years. This peaceful life is interrupted when a priest in Boston is executed Saints style. Being the industrious sort of folks they are, they hop on a boat to Boston to avenge the priest's death.

Meanwhile, police in Boston also are investigating the death. Detectives Greenly (Bob Marley), Dolly (David Ferry) and Duffy (Brian Mahoney) are on the case. They know it wasn’t the Saints who killed the priest (despite the method in which the priest was murdered) because killing innocents is not something the Saints do. The detectives are joined by Special Agent Eunice Bloom (Julie Benz), who is the protégé of Agent Smecker (who passed on prior to the beginning of the film). The four attempt to solve the priest's murder as the Saints re-enter Boston to do the same.

Most of the main characters from the first film return for “All Saints Day.” Flanery and Reedus step back into the roles of the MacManus brothers with ease. The three detectives from the first movie are quite funny (especially Bob Marley). Rocco’s old role as sidekick to the Saints is filled by a man named Romeo (Clifton Collins, Jr.) and he does surprisingly well. Romeo, while bringing in comic relief, is not the same as Rocco from the first movie--he’s more competent and confident. It was a smart move by director Troy Duffy to not make Romeo the “bumbling funnyman” like Rocco was in the first film. This way, Romeo can stand on his own two feet.

Eunice Bloom, on the other hand, suffers as a character because she is so similar to Willem Dafoe’s Agent Smecker. Much like Romeo, she needs to fill in for a previous character absent from the sequel--which is no easy gig. Worse for Bloom is that the similarities between she and Smecker are much easier to draw and thus the character isn't as effective. She is the “genius agent who puts the detectives in their place.” Bloom is an uneven character--sometimes shining, other times failing.

This is definitely a Duffy movie. The cinematography is reminiscent of the first, but, thankfully, the use of fades is a little more organic in this film than in the previous one. Mirroring the first movie, “All Saints Day” is  highly stylistic with moderate substance. The plot is a little confusing at times, but the action is good.

“All Saints Day” is a competent and enjoyable sequel to the previous “Saints” movie. If you liked the first one, try this one. If you didn’t like the first one, this isn't for you.

Grade: B

View the trailer for "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" below. Thoughts?