Greetings again from the darkness. I really do get it. 10 years of ideas, dreams and pent up frustrations. Writer/director Troy Duff has wanted (and deserved) a sequel to his original Boondock Saints, and after all the rumors and near misses, it's finally here ... with guns and f-bombs blazing.
Sean Patrick Flannery (Conner), Norman Reedus (Murphy) and Billy Connolly (Poppa) are back as the vengeance-seeking McManus clan. The film begins with the boys living a quiet life of solitude on a sheep farm in Ireland. Things change quickly when a priest is murdered in Boston and the killer makes it look like our boys are responsible.
Presented as now dead, Willem Dafoe's Agent Paul Smecker (the best part of the first film), has hand-chosen his successor. Unfortunately, it is Julie Benz (the worst part of the stunningly original cable series "Dexter"). We are supposed to believe that Eunice Bloom (Benz) has the same crime scene 6th sense of Smecker, while sporting the absolute worst southern accent in movie history. She teams with the 3 remaining Boston detectives from the original to "assist" the boys on their mission. Oh and on the boat ride over, the McMurphy brothers pick up some comedy relief as a sidekick in the terrific Clifton Collins (Romeo).
There are many humorous moments, tons of gratuitous violence (noted by Murphy in an elevator), some horrific editing, a nod to Tarantino and Rodriguez, and a full explanation of Poppa's history. That history is tied to an interesting character played by Peter Fonda, which makes for an entertaining sequence shot in a rundown greenhouse.
Mr. Duffy has no shortage of ideas and, for the most part, provides an entertaining film ... almost in tribute to the original. Not sure how many new fans he will make, but he has certainly satisfied the original cult following. Oh, and make no mistake, the last few minutes of the film play like the opening of the next round.
Sean Patrick Flannery (Conner), Norman Reedus (Murphy) and Billy Connolly (Poppa) are back as the vengeance-seeking McManus clan. The film begins with the boys living a quiet life of solitude on a sheep farm in Ireland. Things change quickly when a priest is murdered in Boston and the killer makes it look like our boys are responsible.
Presented as now dead, Willem Dafoe's Agent Paul Smecker (the best part of the first film), has hand-chosen his successor. Unfortunately, it is Julie Benz (the worst part of the stunningly original cable series "Dexter"). We are supposed to believe that Eunice Bloom (Benz) has the same crime scene 6th sense of Smecker, while sporting the absolute worst southern accent in movie history. She teams with the 3 remaining Boston detectives from the original to "assist" the boys on their mission. Oh and on the boat ride over, the McMurphy brothers pick up some comedy relief as a sidekick in the terrific Clifton Collins (Romeo).
There are many humorous moments, tons of gratuitous violence (noted by Murphy in an elevator), some horrific editing, a nod to Tarantino and Rodriguez, and a full explanation of Poppa's history. That history is tied to an interesting character played by Peter Fonda, which makes for an entertaining sequence shot in a rundown greenhouse.
Mr. Duffy has no shortage of ideas and, for the most part, provides an entertaining film ... almost in tribute to the original. Not sure how many new fans he will make, but he has certainly satisfied the original cult following. Oh, and make no mistake, the last few minutes of the film play like the opening of the next round.