The Boondock Saints (1999)

I guess it'll take a while for the effect to where off. I saw the unrated edition of "The Boondock Saints" two days ago and I'm still reeling in from the experience, which is surreal, to tell you the truth. Quite frankly, a movie that is this sharply written, acted, and directed is a true rarity these days. Writer-director Troy Duffy dives into the murkiest depths of the "law," and its apparent futility in modern times, and how it takes two Irish fraternal twin brothers, Conner and Murphy (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus - both of whom are a little too convincing in their roles), to stir up enough debate about vigilantism to become media heroes. The release of "The Boondock Saints" was sidelined in 1999 because of the Columbine massacre and the plot about Conner and Murphy being on a mission from God draws some eerie parallels to the motives of Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. As the film opens in Boston after St. Patrick's Day, Conner and Murphy get into a bar-room brawl with a couple of Russian toughs and said toughs are discovered the next morning in an alley in piles of their own blood and guts. FBI agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) shows up on the scene to show the local cops a thing or two about criminology and theorizes it was a revenge killing. Soon enough, both injured brothers waltz into the police station and claim self-defense. They're let off after a night in jail (plus experience a cathartic jail-cell baptism) and no charges filed. But soon, more bodies turn up, and Smecker learns that Conner and Murphy (and a third, David Della Rocco) may be the ones behind the mayhem on the streets. Duffy's film is a bloody one (most of the gruesome violence is extended in the unrated special edition), with a cackling screenplay that includes 246 uses of the f-word and assorted Irish-Euro-slang, and has earned a fearsome reputation in recent years and has been embraced as a cult phenomenon. (It's easy to see why, if one is a fan of relentless violence and bloodshed. P.S.: The action is so balletic in its style and excess that it's almost reminiscent of a John Woo picture.) I can't believe I stood away from this movie for so long, darn it! The opening moments don't prepare you for what comes up next and even though the action (which there is quite a bit of and, as stated earlier, is extended in the unrated version) is quite bloody, there's a morbid sense of humor running throughout the carnage and I fell out laughing on more than one occasion during this picture. And still, there is a sense of beauty and tragedy underlying much of the action in "The Boondock Saints," and its ending will certainly leave a bitter taste in the mouths of some. Lastly, I would recommend reading up on as much about the controversy surrounding "The Boondock Saints" as one possibly can; it'll make the experience much more hypnotic.

10/10

Fmovies: My son called me from Korea (Army Medic) to tell me that I had to see this movie. He brought it home with him on leave and we watched it together and he was absolutely right. It was "off the chain" as he says. It was so different from the standard fare that only substitutes different faces into the same tired story lines. We love it and I am now buying my own copy. I recommend it to any one that I know is a discriminating movie lover. I can't wait for the sequel. By the way , I'm a 43 year old mom of three so it's not just for 20 something males. Willem Dafoe was over the top but absolutely perfect for this movie. My husband hates movies and any TV that doesn't have a ball and a score, but he actually loved this movie too. It kept him on the edge of his seat and he actually laughed out loud several times.

I've always enjoyed non-linear storytelling. A number of people seem to have picked up on this aspect of the movie and thus dubbed it similar to Pulp Fiction (though no one mentions Reservoir Dogs) when this movie takes non-linear storytelling to a level beyond where Quentin Tarrantino was ever able to go.

Now, certainly Memento came along afterwards and transformed the entire art of non-linear storytelling. However, Memento uses it to keep the movie watcher guessing until the very end, whereas Boondock Saints puts the pieces on the table, letting you try to put them together, but then will continue handing you pieces until the picture becomes clearer.

Clearly the movie is designed to be over-the-top, both from Williem Dafoe's character to the action sequences themselves. Williem Dafoe makes this movie for me. The plot, which centers on religiously-inspired vigilante justice, has an air of being somewhat cliched, although I would be hard pressed to name another movie which handles it in this matter.

I still fail to see how others consider this movie vacuous and without meaning, when its message about the pitfalls of our current legal system and the need for something that transcends it is quite clear. I thought the ending, in which various people are interviewed about their opinion of the "Saints" and how for some vigilante justice was an incredibly sensitive issue, made this point very clear.

The Boondock Saints fmovies. A fourth year film student with a chip on his/her shoulder will probably tell you that this film is simple, uninspired, derivative, gratuitous..... ignore him/her just like you always do and see this genuinely funny movie. It has an inspired performance by Willem Dafoe and enough new ideas to keep you glued. The social commentary should probably be looked at as more of a plot device than intelligent thought, but I found myself watching this movie repeatedly and enjoying it more the second and third time around. This is definitely a naughty pleasure for the movie enthusiast.

Preliminary remark: the comments refer to a pre-release version that was shown at the "Fantasy Film Festival" in Cologne, Germany, in August 1999.

"Boondock Saints" is a clever, funny, sufficiently violent movie with an overall high entertainment value. The story revolves around two Irish-American brothers and an excentric gay FBI agent (awesome: William Dafoe). The brothers - devout Catholics - who speak several languages fluently and work in a slaughterhouse find themselves equipped with money and weapons and subsequently start their very own crusade against the evil men of Boston - professional killers, mafia bosses and drug dealers. The agent is at their heels from the outset, but he has to realize that justice is on the side of the brothers...

This basic plot is the foundation for a highly energetic narrative: we get excellent and at times highly comic dialogues (with a high F***-word ratio), running gags, and lots of crazy situations and plot developments that are as absurd as they are funny. The action/shooting scenes are well-choreographed with a fine eye for the detail, but it's the main characters, their dialogues and developments around which the movie is develops rather than the action sequences.

On top of this, we get a fractured time/place structure that's already familiar from movies such as Kubrick's "The Killing" or Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs", but "Boondock Saints" takes it to new extremes - and thus it's fun to watch.

Of course, the characters are a bit shallow every now and then and one would love to learn more about their background, but that's only a slight criticism. Overall, and measured by its own intention, "Boondock Saints" is great entertainment. More, it doesn't need to be.

I know there's a lot of people who either worship this movie or hate it. Truth be told this movie is just a fun action movie with a good plot, great characters, and very good direction. Compare it to whatever you want, but you can do that with any movie out there. If you haven't had the chance to catch this flick, go out and rent it! it's one of those movies that shouldn't be missed. I guarantee that once you see it you'll be quoting it left and right. Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus have amazing chemistry together, and David Del Rocko just adds the comedic relief that makes the trio one thats hard to take your eyes off of.

See the Boondock Saints and get ready to have a good ole celtic time.

(B)