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Boondock Saints is directed by Troy Duffy, and stars
Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery, Willem Dafoe, and Billy
Connolly. ***
Boondock Saints is a crime drama which follows the
lifes of two fraternal twins setting out to rid Boston of
the evil men operating there. As if such a mission wasn’t
already difficult enough, the men are, all the while, being
tracked down by an FBI agent. ***
Boondock Saints was the victim of horrible theatrical
distribution and a number of scathing critical reviews –
many of which stated that the film was a Tarantino rip-off.
Fortunately, a decade after its bombing theatrically, the
movie has built up a cult following – apparently enough
to merit a Blu-Ray release. And it’s a shame the film has
been so badly insulted over the years critically – it’s
actually pretty damn entertaining. ***
If you’re looking for something with a lot of substance,
or you’re easily offended by profane language, don’t even
bother. You’re not going to enjoy this film if you fall
into either of those categories. But if you like stylized
action violence and aren’t traumatized by profanity and
gore, you’ll have a lot of fu n here. The actors, among
whom is the always-entertaining Willem Dafoe, deliver some
of the best performances of their career, and are clearly
having a lot of fun doing what they do best. It’s not for
everyone, but certainly worth seeing at least once. ***
This package contains the theatrical and director cut
versions of the film, although they are virtually identical.
The director’s cut uses some gorier, more violent takes
of some of the violent scenes, but really has little else
to offer over its theatrical counterpart. ---
Image and Sound:
Boondock Saints is finally available in 1080p, and
let me be the first to say the results don’t disappoint.
The sheer amount of detail has increased substantially,
but the film does manage to maintain its gritty feel all
the same. The lossless audio explodes in the action sequences,
and never lets up once the bullets start flying. This isn’t
the best Blu-Ray transfer I’ve seen of a 10-year-old movie,
but it’s certainly a worthy upgrade from the old DVD issue.
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