The McManus brothers, infamously known as the Saints, return 10 years after the release of the cult classic, “The Boondock Saints” for “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.”
The sequel, again written and directed by Troy Duffy, brings back several familiar characters from the first film. Both brothers, Connor and Murphy McManus played by Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus, return to the silver screen in their signature pea coats and array of weaponry.
Leaving off from the first film, the brothers and their father are found lying low in Ireland after the public execution of a mobster during a court trial in Boston years earlier.
Boston detectives Duffy (Brian Mahoney), Greenly (Bob Marley) and Dolly (David Ferry) who helped the saints in the first film return for the sequel.
Gerard Parkes returns as Doc, the beloved bar owner with Tourrette’s syndrome. Although obviously older, he still shouts out his familiar obscenities.
A Mexican fighter known as Romeo, Clifton Collins Jr, replaces “Funny Man” Rocco as the new third musketeer.
Incorporating a Mexican fighter into the vigilante crew and having Catholic religion as a unifying factor was a smart way to bring the team together. This was a contrast to the first film, where Rocco was a neighborhood friend who interacts with the brothers from the beginning of the film.
Also new to the sequel is special agent Eunice Bloom played by Julie Benz. Benz is a familiar face from films such as “Saw V” and episodes of Showtime’s television series “Dexter” and replaces FBI agent Paul Smecker played by Willem Dafoe.
Replacing Willem Defoe’s role as crime scene investigator, Paul Smecker was a tough bill for Benz to fill as Eunice Bloom. Unfortunately, the Southern belle with attitude role she attempted to create didn’t quite cut it. Bloom managed to hold her own ground in a predominantly male dominated profession and looked good doing it, but her supposed Southern accent was inconsistent throughout the film making it hard to take her character seriously.
The budget for this film was larger than the first film and it was apparent. The first film focused on the strong bond between the brothers and the mission to rid the city of Boston of evil men. Rather than rely on a good script, the sequel seemed to rely on the fact that they rounded up most of the original cast and the special effects to get by.
Instead of a thought-out story line, the movie was a series of cheesy one-liners and slapstick comedy. In several scenes the brothers use the term “gay” to criticize each other rather than more clever humor used in the first film.
Because the first film was such a commercial success, the sequel is worth watching if nothing else, to see the cast reunited. Fans of the cult classic will be disappointed to find the film to be a run of the mill big budget, shoot-em-up, special effects film. Chock full of cliché one liners and less of an epic story.
