The Boondock Saints
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.21 You Save: $5.77 (39%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.00 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Boondock Saints
Movie Review: It's a winner
Summary: 5 Stars
It only takes a few minutes to draw a comparison between Troy Duffy's "The Boondock Saints" and almost any Quentin Tarentino film. As I watched this breathtaking movie, I snickered to myself over realizing this little fact. I figured few others would make the connection. Boy, was I wrong! It seems that anyone who has seen "Boondock Saints" immediately thinks of "Pulp Fiction" or "Reservoir Dogs." Moreover, a lot of people do not like the idea of Duffy ripping off such a noble American icon. Perhaps they have forgotten that Tarentino has based his entire career on borrowing or outright ripping off ideas from 1960s and 1970s cinema. I could care less whether Duffy imitated "Pulp Fiction" or whether he arrived at this idea on his own. Hollywood routinely begs, borrows, and steals in an effort to make a buck. The recent trend of remaking older films is only one aspect of this philosophy, so complaining about some filmmaker copying a specific style is a moot point. "The Boondock Saints" is an enormously entertaining way to spend a couple of hours and, despite a few flaws, may attain a cult status rivaling anything made by Quentin Tarentino. This is how it should be.Connor and Murphy MacManus (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus respectively) are two Irish brothers who spend their days drinking at the local pub and working in a local meatpacking plant. They don't do much with their free time outside of lounging around their filthy loft and hanging around with unbalanced people like their friend David Rocco, a minor criminal who longs to join the local branch of the mafia. Trouble rears its ugly head when some Russian gangsters move into the neighborhood and threaten to close down the neighborhood bar. After a fistfight leads to a couple of killings in an alley, the boys realize they may be in a spot of trouble with local law enforcement. Actually, they are in more trouble than they realize at first when an FBI agent by the name of Paul Smecker arrives on the scene. The inept local cops stand around throwing out all sorts of weird, implausible theories about these corpses in the alleyway, but Smecker moves in and figures it all out in an enormously hilarious and ingenious way. By slapping on some headphones pumping out classical music and prancing around the scene checking things out, Smecker tells the cops what happened, when it happened, and who probably did it. Sure enough, the MacManus boys sheepishly arrive at the local cop shop, bloodied and bandaged from their tussle with the Russkies, and confess to the crime.
Fortunately for Connor and Murphy, Agent Smecker takes a real shine to these gregarious youngsters and releases them from jail. After all, the whole incident was merely a case of self-defense gone horribly bloody. But something strange happens to the MacManus brothers after this incident; they suddenly think they receive a calling from God to rid the streets of criminals. Checking in at the local armory of the Irish Republican Army (this is Boston, after all) and arming themselves to the teeth, Connor and Murphy use information gleaned from their encounter with the low-level mafia goons to stage a mission against the bosses of the Russian Mob. Other jobs soon follow, all apparently sanctioned and sanctified by the Almighty. The boys are so successful they soon draw in the assistance of David Rocco, who, with his vast knowledge of Boston's underworld, provides a list of criminals who deserve to die. As the body count rises, Smecker comes closer to learning the identities of these homegrown vigilantes. The fact that the FBI agent undergoes a crisis of conscience over the crimes--he quickly realizes these murders are the work of citizens fed up with crime--leads him to secretly help the men responsible for the killings. Throw in a bunch of Mafia thugs, adult film star Ron Jeremy as a doomed hoodlum, a vicious, mystical killer named "Il Duce" (played by Billy Connolly, still atoning for "Head of the Class"), stylish gunplay, and an exploding cat and you have all the makings of this marvelous movie.
"The Boondock Saints" is a film about vigilantism and whether that activity is ever justifiable, although that theme seems to disappear for most of the movie. The conclusion, too, ends up being just a little too implausible, but getting there is a boatload of fun. The best things about Duffy's film are the whipsaw quick dialogue, the hilarious running gags, and Willem Dafoe as Agent Paul Smecker. Dafoe especially deserves accolades for his portrayal of a conflicted FBI agent whose sympathies eventually turn to the MacManus brothers. His way of solving crimes, especially the shootout between Il Duce and the two vigilantes, is not only brilliantly executed but a wonder to watch. Moreover, Smecker's interactions with the local Irish cops provide endless opportunities for great dialogue and hilarious jokes.
Regrettably, a bit of overacting at certain points of the film quickly annoys, as does the failure to provide anything more than lip service to vigilantism and how it pertains to our ultra violent world, but "The Boondock Saints" is so much fun despite these flaws that you will hardly notice them. The DVD includes many extras, such as important deleted scenes, a commentary by Troy Duffy, and a widescreen presentation. There's even talk of an impending sequel, although the absence of the Willem Dafoe character, if the reports are true, could cause significant problems. There is not any other way to say it: if you have not seen "The Boondock Saints," run, do not walk, to the local video store and buy or rent a copy today.
Movie Review: Boondock Saints.
Summary: 5 Stars
Boondock Saints is a movie that never got much publicity and did not use much advertising. The most remarkable thing about this movie is that it never had any advertising at all. The only way people could hear about it was word of mouth and yet many people heard about it. It is good to know that movies still need to have some quality and can not just be hyped up with huge budgets and expensive actors. There were very few known actors in this movie and that is what made it so good. These actors established themselves in the acting world as great action heroes.
This movie starts out with the two main characters praying in a church. The director tries to get you to sympathize with the main characters right off the bat. It then cuts to a shot of them in a bar drinking with their friends. A few big men come in and demand that they all leave the bar. As a result they start a fight with these three men and end up winning because these men were severely out numbered. It then cuts to a shot of a crime scene and the police are investigating the death of the men that started the fight. The unique thing about this movie is that it skips parts so that you don't understand what happened, then it cuts back and goes through what happened step by step with the police. It is the most creative way to make a movie I have seen in a long time.
Although the movie glorifies killers it is an excellent movie, and should get more credit then it does. It's an interesting movie and keeps you on the edge of your seat. You never know what to expect out of these two guys, they are always getting into mischief and always seem to find a very clever way to get out of it. The fact that they always look back to God for help makes the movie more identifiable with more people that don't really like the killing and action of your typical 90's movie. Before this movie I was really getting sick and tired of all of the spin off's of Saving Private Ryan. All of those war movies got real old, real fast and everyone just kept right on making them. This movie was a change from all that, it stood out from the crowd and made an excellent movie for the times.
I think the most interesting thing about this movie is, like I said before, the way they showed the action scene. They would show the very beginning of it and then they would cut to after it and what the aftermath was. During the aftermath they would cut to parts of the fight scene when what they were talking about was important. Say they were trying to repair someone's wound, they would then cut to that part in the action sequence where that person was getting that particular injury. This way you get to guess a little about what happened and then you get the actual cause shown to you in the end to bring everything together.
To finish up this review I am going to rate this movie on a scale of one to ten with the rest of the action movies that I have seen. I give Boondock Saints a nine out of ten rating and that is pretty good on my scale, considering I am not really into movies that much. This movie is a must see for any fan of action movies. It can also relate with a Quentin Tarantino fan because the plot is very similar to most of his movies.
Movie Review: Under appreciated movies.
Summary: 5 Stars
My friend told me of the Boondock Saints about 6 months ago. He said it was quick paced, witty and bloody. He also mentioned it was one of the funniest movies he had seen in a while. I had seen the movie at Blockbuster a few times and never rented it, just didn't seem like a movie I would be interested in. Well, as usual there was nothing at the video store worth anything so I picked up the Boondock Saints on DVD, just on the hunch that my friend was right about the movie. I am glad I listened to him.Boondock started out with one of the funnier moments in cinema history, focusing on the bond between two Irish brothers that worked in a meat packing plant, forced to train a large feminist woman. Of course hi-jinks ensue when one makes a comment about the "rule of thumb" to the large woman. A kick to the boys is what he got from his comment, and laughs is what I got from the entire seen. That mood stayed with the rest of movie, a funny undertone combined with some really good action scenes.
The best part? Willem Dafoe playing a gay FBI agent was priceless. His witty comments and slick dress code causes for some pretty good scenes in the movie. Sean Patrick Flanery plays Conner MacManus and Norman Reedus plays Murphy MacMannus, to fraternal twins that are forced into a situation to stand up for themselves against a few members of the Russian mob in Boston. One of the most surprising performances were given by David Dell Rocco who played well.. David Della Rocco also call "Roc" or "Funny Man" in the film. A virtual unknown actor that has a slapstick face with good exaggeration for certain scenes.
Troy Duffy, the man who wrote and directed this brilliant film was also making his directorial debut with the Boondock Saints. He is good with the camera direction and excellent for mixing a serious undertone along with blunt tasteless comedy. Tasteless comedy just happens to be one of my favorites. Duffy is also in the process of directing Boondock 2: All Saints Day, which I am hoping does this film justice as a sequel, nothing smart about screwing up a sequel as well as ruining the legacy of the first film.
The story is easy to follow and not Oscar caliber, but it is compelling enough and interesting to see the film through. The MacManus brothers rise as vigilantes, swearing to kill any man that is a criminal is a fresh air in the movie industry. All of us that love the vigilante theme were sick of waiting for Death Wish 20,455 to come out. Charles Bronson is just a little too old to be taken seriously as a die hard vigilante. this movie is the Punisher comic book hero combined with the Three Stooges.
5 out of 5 for being just the best cult/indie film I have seen in a while. The action is top notch and the acting is fair to good. Give this movie a chance and you won't be disappointed.
Movie Review: Style, Entertainment, Quality and "Slalvation"
Summary: 5 Stars
... I watched this movie, with no subtitles, which makes viewing g it difficult because of the thick accents, and found the copy to be hard to view. Throughout all the hindrances I found myself entranced in the movie. I consider my first viewing when I was finally able to purchase the DVD. The film is absolutely fabulous. The plot and characters are well drawn out, but the true grace is in the camera work. Duffy combines the perfect amount of style and flair with a hard and heavy crime action thriller. This movie is entertaining to the last second of the credits. And for a movie to contain lots of action, perfect acting, and wonderful direction is quite rare. The mystery to me was how a movie this great was able to slip past most people, even for one such as myself who tries to keep on top of the movie business rather frequently. ... Duffy was able to get it made with the actors he wanted. ...I love the smaller, less statuesque and more real version of the MacManus brothers. After it was made Boondock Saints was only going to be available in the video stores in VHS. (That's right no box office.) You may ask, then how is it that Boondock Saints has become so popular? I can only guess that it has happened in the rest of the country as it has happened where I am from. I showed it to my friends who in turn showed it to their friends, and within a year the majority of males in my high school (Yes not so popular with the ladies) it went from someone staring blankly at you when you told them about this great movie Boondock Saints, to several people cheering when they noticed you had written "Veritas" across your finger in class. This success can be attributed to all of the aspects of the movie, but my favorite part of the movie is the characters. Il Duce and Rocco in particular are so well shot and acted that they are practically cartoonish in appearance. By cartoonish I mean that by seeing Billy Connolly in his black hat, thick sunglasses, big grey beard and cigar, you feel as if he was meant to be dressed as that and play this part. The DVD while blessed with some awesome extended scenes, including the extension of the brothers' confrontation with Rozengurtle Baumgartener, was most greatly bestowed with the trailer. This trailer is testament to the fact that this movie would have rocked the box office, being one of the best trailers I have ever seen (and of which I watch before the movie every time I see it). I, along with many other people with whom I share a love of this film have been anxiously awaiting word of the sequel. I only hope that their current plans to begin production on fall of 2004 continue on schedule without any problems. However it has been proven with the original, the Boondock Saints will overcome any obstacle in its way.Movie Review: Wow...just wow
Summary: 5 Stars
Boondock Saints is a nonstop action/comedy that will keep you glued to the screen! Many of the reviews here haven't talked about the plot too much, and there is a very good reason for it. Talking even a little about the plot starts to give away the story. The gist of it is that two Irish brothers start killing off all of the evil people in Boston because they believe that it was a mission sent to them by God. Yes, it does sound pretty corny, I know that's what I thought when I first heard the plot, but believe me, it's not as strange as it appears to be. This movie was made in such a way that the viewer can think and draw their own conclusions about controversial issues, such as the brothers' "holy mission". Meanwhile, a very gay FBI agent (Dafoe) is following the brothers' murders, while questioning himself about the morality of the brothers. The lines in this movie are very memorable, and very funny. The comedy helps balance the seriousness of the movie, which makes the movie VERY addicting. I watched it for the first time yesterday, but then I just HAD to watch it again. There is a lot of violence in this movie (obviously) and some strong language, but if this doesn't bother you, this movie will quickly become a classic in your home.
The actors Sean Flannery and Norman Reedus, who play the brothers, have such chemistry on camera that it actually seemed like they were brothers. Flannery and Reedus didn't even seem to be acting, they truly seemed to be brothers.
I almost forgot to mention the music! This movie has some of the best music I have ever heard, but unfortunately, the soundtrack was never released. The music really helps to set the different moods in the movie, and it would be severly lacking without the spectacular music.
The most important thing about this movie (in my opinion) is what format to buy it on. Buy the DVD, it has the greatest deleted scenes, (the mother's call one is especially funny) and you do need one of the deleted scenes to explain part of the movie better. The music on the main menu is awesome, and I believe that is the only time that the song plays in the movie.
Believe me, this movie isn't a cult classic for nothing. It's worth every penny of the price, which isn't too much for a DVD, and you will love it! Watching the movie made me want to buy the merchandise and make the website my homepage. I can't explain it, but there's something about this movie that I love. Honestly, I'm not really into these kinds of movies, but this one was different. It's worth every penny.