Review: The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

The brothers are back, and this time with a Mexican.

"There was one little problem with their plan," Billy Connolly says at the beginning of The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, "it worked." Ten years after the fact, Troy Duffy's scrappy, DTD cult hit The Boondock Saints has finally received a sequel, one which comes in the tradition of Die Harder: bringing more of the same and in a good way. After all the fuss with Duffy and Overnight, it's nice to get back to the basics—back to the Saints, who've got a little more in their wallets this time around.

The story opens and we find the Saints (the serviceable Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus) over in Ireland with their father (Connolly), living the peasant life and looking like Jesus. But all's not well back in Boston, where a priest is murdered in an 'all-Saints way,' drawing them back for revenge. From there, they meet up with an overtly-stereotypical Mexican (Clifton Collins Jr.), as well as the detectives and neighborhood friends that made the original so endearing. All Saints Day lacks that charmingly low-budget feel of the original, but then again, Duffy is an old dog and new tricks are most surely not in order—even the quick, lazy fadeouts have returned, slicing up the action as if they didn't have enough money to finish the scene. Also returning is the prevalent racism, sexism, and every other 'ism' you can think of, which, admittedly, does gets a little old, but it's not like the film is pretending to be anything else. As Julie Benz proudly remarks, "I'm so smart I make smart people feel retarded."

And speaking of Benz—well on her way to becoming an action goddess—is a riot, and admirably fills the gaping hole left by William Dafoe's near-iconic FBI Agent Paul Smecker, playing an agent of her own in 'Special' Agent Eunice Bloom. A lot of the laughs come from her scenes, especially when paired with the holdover blue-collar detectives. Like Dafoe to the original, Benz makes the movie, and is not to be missed here.

In the end, All Saints Day is quality entertainment, nothing more, and at times, maybe a little less. A harmless sequel which, with its nifty conclusion and great parting shot, should invite a few more, and what of it? The brothers are back, and they're looking to cook up some "gratuitous violence." What more could you ask for? It's not rocket surgery, but it works.


** out of ****

~ Patrick Fryberger