"The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" Review

So, the Empress and I just saw The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day last night. Before I say anything about it, I just want to say that I loved the first movie. I saw a part of it in Fort Hood, and I just had to sit down and watch it. The casting, the direction, how the story was told through a combination of flashback profiling and heartfelt (if not disturbingly violent) narrative and even brotherly comedy. As far as vigilante movies go, the first Boondock Saints took the cake on making it fresh.

Now, that being said: Troy Duffy, what the hell happened? The direction is full of bad cuts, for one. There were quite a few scenes (especially in the beginning) where something would happen, and right in the midst of it, the action would cut out to an entirely different scene, before the scene before seemed to have ended. I still can't tell you what the MacManus brothers saw in Romeo as a sidekick, because they show them watching him in a fight, cut to the police, then throughout the rest of the movie, they tease him, and make him look useless (save for the last fight).

Willem Defoe couldn't play Smecker in this one (until the end of the movie, but that's all I'll say), so we're treated to Julie Benz as Special Agent Eunice Bloom, who is essentially Paul Smecker with a vagina, and no inhibitions to say "fuck" for no reason. She does the same profiling techniques as Smecker, and even does not one, but two variations of the famous "THERE WAS A FIRE FIIIIIIIIGHT!" scene from the first movie. This is completely unnecessary, especially the second time where she's dressed as a cowgirl. The second this happened, I felt my brain snap. Her character is poorly acted, complete with a fake Southern Drawl that makes her sound like an amateur child actress.

Then there's the rest of the minor cast. Romeo... yeah, let's start with him. He's useless, even as a sidekick to replace Rocco. The one line he has that's funny is written as being bad, then over ridden with a worse line that everyone loves. Of course, it's Bloom who inspires his second line. In a flashback. The bad guy is bland... well, bad guys. I'll have to admit, though, I did like the attempt of bringing Il Ducce's past back to the present, but the execution felt entirely rushed. And then, there's the short killer who framed the Saints by killing a Priest in there style. Not clever. In fact, it was stupid. The fat guy in the speedo was even worse.

I have to admit, the brothers are still written well. There's a scene after Romeo meets with his uncle that cracked me up especially. Romeo's crying in his car, and Murphy tries to change the subject. It ends up like this:

Murphy: Anybody else hungry? I could go for something... maybe IHOP--

Conner: Shuuuuuut up! *pause* Romeo's crying!

It's pulled off in true MacManus Bros. style. Unfortunately, for being there movie, it seems like they're over shadowed by Il Ducce's past, Romeo's crybaby-ness, and Eunice's "cleverness." When the brothers are left alone, they're fantastic, but in scenes with other people, they feel suffocated. Even in the very end (which I'm not going to spoil), they seemed pale in comparison to what was going on. In speaking of the ending, the first movie was good because it was open and closed. The sequel was uncertain, so it was a self-contained story, with potential to do an other story. This ends on a cliffhanger that builds you up, making you think that the movie isn't over, then abruptly ends. That was a the cherry topping on the top of the let down cake.

This was a severe disappointment, especially after the first movie. I'm glad I rented it instead of buying it, because I really don't think its worth watching again. Just look up the good parts on Youtube. They'll be easy enough to find; they'll look like the first movie, but the Roman Numeral "II" will be in the video.

I give this movie 2 out of 6 sets of angry Irish twins.