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The Boondock Saints (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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806 comments in total

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249 out of 353 people found the following review useful:
A true original, 1 September 2002

Author: Ledare from Los angeles, CA

This film had the sad history of being blackballed in the United States due to the incident at Columbine...which is a real shame, because it is a treasure...written and directed by Troy Duffy, Boondocks is set in Boston...it is the story of fraternal twin Irish boys (Connor and Murphy McManus) who work in a meat packing plant...when their friend, Doc, is being stiff armed by the Russian Mafia, the boys and their friends step in to help...and away we go! Two of the most interesting characters in the film are played by veteran actor William Dafoe, and a newcomer to the silver screen, David Della Rocco. Dafoe's character is Paul Smecker, a gay FBI agent specializing in organized crime...Rocco plays an Italian Mafia package boy who is a close friend to the Irish brothers...the central theme of the film is the indifference of good men...Connor and Murphy are not indifferent, and after helping their friend, Doc, the two embark on a crusade to rid the streets of Boston of criminals...with the assistance of their comical and zany friend, Rocco...This film had positive elements on all sides...humor...a moral message...and incredible actors...you will no doubt find yourself repeating the many memorable quotes from the film...I am a woman, and not at all into your typical "shoot 'em up" guy films...this is not another one of those films...it has become an underground "cult" sensation...See it...you will not be disappointed!

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215 out of 289 people found the following review useful:
The Saints Come Marching In!, 21 August 2003
Author: Ben Burgraff (cariart) from Las Vegas, Nevada

The Boondock Saints is one of the most pleasant surprises I've had in my years of watching indies, and it proves conclusively that you don't need a massive budget to do a terrific action film!

Two blue-collar Boston Irish brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus, who are both terrific!) rid their favorite pub of an influx of Russian gangsters, and soon decide they are on a Mission from God to execute all the 'heavy hitter' criminals from the city. While this makes them local heroes, it also sets sympathetic detective Willem Dafoe on their trail.

The story is reminiscent of the 'Death Wish' series, without the glossy superficiality of the Bronson films. At times funny, at times disturbing, it never loses momentum, with a twist ending is both satisfying and thoroughly insane!

While the violence is graphic, the story is character-driven, and never allows the executions to overwhelm the plot. You actually like the brothers, and may be hard-pressed NOT to root for them, even if you do feel a bit guilty about it!

The Boondock Saints is a fabulous film, one that deserves your attention!

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189 out of 283 people found the following review useful:
Great unusual action film, 8 February 2004

Author: Grann-Bach (Grann-Bach@jubii.dk) from Denmark

Very intelligent action movie, about two Irish brothers who kill 'sinners' to punish them. The movie is a bit different from the typical action movie, as it doesn't have car-chases or explosions. The action consists of stylish shooting sprees. It also has a fairly original idea that is utilized in nearly every action scene in the movie, and that should be used more often in action films; first you see the aftermath, the crime-scene, the police investigating, counting bodies, etc. After/as the police come up with theories to the crime, we see the actual scene, of the brothers punishing criminals. It's a different kind of vigilante movie. It's particularly gory and bloody, but this just makes it all the more realistic. In real life, there is a significant amount of blood when someone is shot in the head. The movie has some Christian subtexts, I think I've heard about five major theories about the whole movie's meaning. This shows, in my opinion, that there was obviously a lot of thought put into the movie. I'd recommend it to anyone who can stand the gore, even if they aren't Christians. 10/10

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107 out of 138 people found the following review useful:
Take it or Leave it., 31 March 2004
Author: ScarlettWeasel (kgreene2@ithaca.edu) from Ithaca, New York

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

You've either seen it or you haven't; you either love it with a fiery passion, or curse it for ever being thought up. Boondock Saints is one of those films that people just can't seem to be apathetic about.

I happen to be one of the those who love it with a firey passion. I thought that Willem Dafoe's character was fantastic and created a gay man unlike the stereotypes of "Queer Eye." I also thought Duffy's was well suited to the tone of the movie, and created several fascinating shots that I love as a film student. The credit sequence strikes me as brilliance; the film raises a lots of questions of where the line between good and evil lays and about perceptions of God. The writing made me laugh, the music made me shiver (the opening sequence is The Blood of Cu Chulainn--fantastic if you like that genre), and the characters made me care. On a purely shallow feminine note: just as straight boys have twin fantasies, so do I with a pair of fraternal Irish twins...thank you Troy, thank you.

Of course then there's the opposite side of the coin. Allowing yourself to be immersed in the story takes some huge suspension of belief. Common examples: Conner jumping off a building and not breaking bones--possible, but unlikely, and the boys falling through the air duct after magically taking a coiled rope, untying it and getting tangled in it enough that when caught would hold their weight allowing them to shoot every major boss in the Russian Mob--yeah, I don't buy it either, but it's extremely cinematic! Some people would point to that and say "divine intervention! God loves them!" Yeah well, God loves us all, but you don't see people flying off buildings because of it--well you might, but you get my drift. So my point is that, while I love this movie, I could very easily see where someone else wouldn't.

If you haven't seen it; you should. Give it a chance. Don't listen to anybody else before you do. Hell, if you haven't seen it why are you reading this? Go rent it, burrow if from your friends, whatever; watch it and form your own opinions and then join in some huge fight on the message boards. Good fun can be had by all, whether you loved or hated it.

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124 out of 191 people found the following review useful:
Purely just a Fun Movie, 17 June 2004

Author: Party_Hard from West Chester, PA

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)

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88 out of 144 people found the following review useful:
Great (but not always new) ideas - great realization. Entertainment in the tradition of "Pulp Fiction"., 15 August 1999

Author: Christoph Heumann from Bonn, Germany

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.

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85 out of 141 people found the following review useful:
Somewhere between Tarantino and Ritchie lies Duffy, 5 August 2003

Author: Tom Burns (ox95) from Chicago, IL

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.

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84 out of 148 people found the following review useful:
A wonderful movie,, 14 September 2004
Author: ashestwoashes2000 (alex_oc_92@hotmail.com) from Idaho

...albeit a little too proud of itself. I waited a long time before actually watching this film, then an ex-girlfriend loaned it to me telling me I wouldn't be disappointed. And I wasn't. Boondock Saints looks and feels like a fan film, and it is well done. The actors, I felt, were carefully chosen, did a wonderful job, and composed themselves well. The only real annoyances were Willem Dafoe's character being a know-it-all, and David Della Rocco who screams his head off throughout the whole movie. Its rare that a movie of this genre has a gratifying ending, and when the credits started rolling, I was a little sad that there wasn't more. This movie kept me entertained thoroughly, and I was happy that I finally watched it. For those who haven't seen it, sit back and enjoy the violent ride, for it's a fun one.

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39 out of 59 people found the following review useful:
Non-linear storytelling executed well, 28 July 2003

Author: stumblefoot

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.

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62 out of 105 people found the following review useful:
Holier than thou?, 1 June 2006

Author: dee.reid from United States

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

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