Movie Review--Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day

****Warning: This review contains spoilers.****

Ok, so after months of waiting, actually more like agonizing, to see this movie I finally, FINALLY, got the privilege of seeing it today. And let me just say...Holy. Shit.

This movie, well it was a lot better than I was expecting. Not that I thought it'd be bad in any way shape or form, but I was hearing a lot of mixed reviews from people who supposedly "loved" the first one. But I usually take those reviews with a grain of salt. The only thing I was worried about with BDS2 was that it wouldn't live up to the hype that came with being the sequel to one of the greatest cult-classics in history. And to say I was pleasantly surprised was an understatement.

The movie starts off with...Rocco! Yes, David Della Rocco, in da flesh! He just kinda does this cool little walking around the empty streets of Boston while a voice over plays of him talking about, well basically what the Saints are all about.

Cut to Ireland, where we find the brothers MacManus in a situation reminiscent of Brokeback Mountain...NOT like that you sickos (they would never actually SHOW that on camera *cough*)! I'm just saying they're watching sheep, in a valley, on horseback. Oh and they look like a couple of homeless guys. Obviously, the point is, they're living a new life now. Until they get word that a priest was murdered back in Boston at the hands of Yakavetta. A new one. Obviously. And just like that...BAM! Cue the badass music and Conner and Murphy are back in business MothaFuckers!!!

And of course what would a Boondock movie be without the three stooges themselves: Detectives Dolly, Duffy and last but certainly not least, Greenly. This new Saint "copy-cat" has stirred up some shit, ripped the skeletons right out of their closets. And they're fucking scared. Especially now that Special Agent Eunice Bloom is on the case.

We find out that she was Smecker's protégé, and she is just like him. I was a little worried when I found out that a chick was stepping into the man's world of Boondock. That she was just basically going to be replacement for Smecker...or even worse. A love interest.

But replacement she was not and love interest she was definitely not. Well, unless you count Greenly desperately wanting to get in her pants. But I really couldn't blame him, 'cause well, it's Greenly. Not to mention, Agent Bloom was a total badass.

So, while Greenly and the gang have conniptions about possibly getting found out, we join Conner and Murphy on a boat on their way to the states. There they meet their new sidekick, Romeo. Who's kind of stupid, but also pretty badass.

And, I just need to say this, Murphy tattooing Conner... while they talk about what they should've done with their hair for a disguise. Murphy suggests they dye their hair and Conner giggles. And then Murphy says he'd dye his hair blond, and Conner calls him a gay surfer dude, and just omg it's amazing.

But that's enough squee about that. So, they get to the States and they want to send Yakavetta a "Hey we're here!" message, so they kill some of his Asian drug runners. Now, he AND the Boston police know they're here.

Then the brothers and Romeo pay a visit to good 'ole Doc down at McGinty's and they get shit-faced. And it's good times. Then at one point, Conn and Murph go visit Rocco, laugh about how they used his mug shot. Kill some more people. Meet Eunice, figure out she's on their side and that she has no intention of turning the detectives in (she's just making 'em sweat a little).

Conner and Murphy are reunited with Dolly, Greenly and Duffy, and they help take down Yakavetta. And that's when shit starts to hit the fan.

During the investigation, some other Suit comes in an tells Eunice that she's off the case, and that's no good 'cause this guy is NOT on the Saints' side. And to make matters worse, Yakavetta was just a pawn, and that there's someone bigger behind this. Codename: The Old Man. Or the Roman. Or something. All you need to know that he was the one who got ll Duce doing what he was doing. He's also the one that sold him out and landed him behind bars for 25 to life.

So of course, our boys need to do something about it.

So how does it end? Greenly and Da are dead. Conner, Murphy, Romeo are in prison and people are outraged saying that they should "Free the Saints". Eunice goes into hiding only to find out that Smecker hasn't faked his own death and now plan to break them out.

And, to pass the time until then, Conner and Murphy have plans of their own. Not to escape, but to kill every last one of the scumbags that reside in Hoag Maximum Security Prison.

Any questions? No? Good. Now, I'm going to move on to critiquing the film. Mostly from a technical aspect but there were some other issues I had as well. Nothing major though.

Ok, so the mobsters this time around, I don't know. I wasn't really feeling the new Yakavetta and his gang. Well, most of his gang. Also, I loved Eunice, but Julie Benz wasn't very constant with the southern accent of the character. Sometimes it would be too thick, and other times it was normal. So that's really just the actress's fault. But I think she did a fabulous job other wise.

One of the biggest complaints I saw was that it didn't really FEEL like Boondock Saints. Which, I have to agree with that in some ways. The lighting was weird in this movie, and it sort of took away the gritty, raw, feel that the original Boondock had. Also, the pacing felt a little rushed in some places, and a lot of things seemed like they were happening quicker than they should have.

Also, the film seemed to jump around at times and the editing of some scenes looked a little, uhm, thrown together? I don't know if that was what Troy Duffy was going for or not, I think some of the editing choices didn't really read well.

But enough of that bad stuff. Because it really was an awesome movie that had my attention the entire time. However, it seemed to be a little more light hearted than the original, especially in the beginning. My favorite scene though had to be the dream sequence towards the end, which reunited Rocco, Conner and Murphy and the awesome opening song from Boondock 1. And Greenly! He was there too! It was just...beyond epic.

Another thing I loved was that All Saints Day incorporated quite a bit of the soundtrack from the original. Not so much in the beginning though, which is why I think a lot of people said that it didn't feel like a Boondock movie. Something was definitely off at the start, though I couldn't put my finger on it until I heard those familiar tunes from the first one. Then I was like YES! Now it's Boondock Saints!

And, I guess the only thing that's left to say is this: BRING ON BOONDOCK SAINTS 3!!!

Oh and, as always, Catch you on the flip side ;)

~Allie