The Boondock Saints

< Previous Trailer  |   Add to My Scrapbook  |   Next Trailer >
The Boondock Saints

93% Liked It
liked it

The Boondock Saints

Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery, Willem Dafoe, Billy Connolly, David Della Rocco, David Ferry

Encouraged by the public's praise, two Catholic brothers, Conner and Murphy MacManus bring a bloody brand of vigilante justice against Boston's Russian mafia and crime lord Yakavetta.

Id: 10892532

Do you want to see this movie?

My Friends Said...

The Boondock Saints Recent Reviews

Register or sign-in to see your friends' reviews !

Recent Reviews

The Boondock Saints Recent Reviews
  • Showrogan
    December 4, 2009
    Showrogan
    Review pending...
  • stopitgoaway
    November 17, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    First - what is this film really about? Towards the end of the last century, only two cities in America had an "Irish mob", Boston and Brooklyn, and Brooklyn's was fading fast, caught up in smuggling in easily identifiable illegal aliens and smuggling guns back to an IRA that's n...( read more)o longer even all that popular in the north.. During the 1980s, an enterprising FBI agent got it in his head that the way to contain the Italian mob in Boston (which was still strong on the docks) was to pay the South Boston Irish mob to rub them out. The scheme not only proved ineffective, but surfaced publicly and created quite a scandal. Several films were made about it; besides this one, the only other film loosely derived from the event that I've seen is "Southie". Most of these films - including this one, have taken an odd tact - they have concerned themselves largely with two questions: First, what does it mean to be "Irish American" in the post-modern era, when no American gives a damn about Irish ancestry anymore; and second, what is the difference between Irish Catholicism and Italian Catholicism, as found in the underworld, which, after all, suffers from a want of morality all together.

    Those who've seen "Good Will Hunting" will recognize the first question. Although the second question seems completely off the wall, it should still ring a few bells - remember "Road to Perdition"? How about Ray Iotta's character in "Goodfellas" (he's never a 'made-man' to the mob because he's half-Irish)? Troy Duffy has made this second issue central and made the first dependent on it - what remains of Irish-American culture is derived from Irish Catholicism (this, by the way, is a very Irish view on the matter). However, being an Irish Catholic in America inevitably involves a certain amount of apostasy - i.e., transgressive skepticism - which, for every Irish American boy leads through a phase of a profound sense of undefinable guilt - God probably doesn't exist, but he's still judging us anyway. Eventually, there are only two ways to wrench one's self out of this guilt - through art or through laughter. Duffy is clearly using both.

    What Duffy has done is to take Irish Catholicism, sent it back to its roots in the later Dark Ages, dragged it through all kinds of post-modern angst (represented largely by Dafoe, but discoverable at virtually every turn), and resurrected it as an allegory of Christ's Passion represented as tale of Medieval knights in navy pea-coats with guns.

    Whew! But this explains why someone like myself, hardly an adolescent "fanboy", might actually like this film. The ironies are so rich, and so deeply embedded with history, that there's always some new twist on the ancient myths turning up at every moment. And the complete disjunction between the ancient myths and the post-modern world in which they appear creates a tension that cannot be resolved in the film itself, but must be left with the audience as a question.

    A violent funny gut-wrenching and disturbing film; a fine farewell to the last century, even if it bodes not well for the new.

    (Oh, and what IS the difference between Irish Catholicism and Italian Catholicism in the criminal underworld? In the old Irish ghettos you either became a priest, a cop, or a drunk; and later your mom made you feel bad for not becoming one of the other two. In the old Italian ghettos you became a drunken priest and shot the cop. Later your mom made you lasagna.)
  • kiriyamakazou
    November 6, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    A rags-to-riches story for the director (as covered in the documentary Overnight), but then suppressed due to the Columbine Massacre. Boondock Saints can easily be dismissed as yet another Tarantino clone. It has the dark humor, the wickedly clever dialogue and the fractured narr...( read more)ative. Luckily, over the years, Boondock Saints has proved to be so much more. Garnering a cult status that only time can grant. Boondock Saints may deal with the difficult subjects of the laws of God versus the laws of man, but it also delivers an engaging and entertaining crime drama. I'm not someone who would agree with The Saints' methods, but the film has Flanery and Reedus giving wonderfully human performances. Rocco is also great as the man that understands the ideas, but not the methods. This isn't as simple as killing the bad guys, with Dafoe's crisis of faith and responsibility, it's a whole lot more.
  • allan913
    September 12, 2009
    allan913
    A powerful thriller. Wickedly funny, twisted, bullet-riddeld fun. An action-packed thrill-ride that packs an electrifying mixture of bullets, humor, brains, style and originality into one leathal dosage of a movie. Heart-pounding and adreniline-pumping from start to finish. It's ...( read more)thrilling, exciting, exhilerating and absolutely breathtaking. Willem Dafoe is brilliant and cool, it's one of the best performances of his career. Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus are fantastic, they have unique and very compelling chemistry together. A rocking good time. It's almost too enertaining for it's own good. Lots of guilty pleasure fun that you cant get enough of. One of finest independent films I've seen ever. This film delivers the goods. It's an instant classic. A great mixture of film noir, neo noir and dark comedy. An edge of your seat flick that proves to be absolutely addictive.
  • rebvodka042099
    June 21, 2009
    rebvodka042099
    Absolutely perfect! And having learned background information for it (thanks R!) makes it all the more perfect. A stylist, indie combination of Tarantino and Guy Richie with some sicker twists and bloodier messes.

    Norman Reedus has always been a favorite actor of mine and I'm s...( read more)ad that he's not more broadly-known. But the best job in this movie is definitely done by Sean Patrick Flanery. His and Reedus' chemistry just flies off the screen. And I'm not a particular Willem Dafoe fan, but I absolutely adored him in this movie. Great, difficult performance and he pulled it through brilliantly. Everything else is just as splendid: the soundtrack is efficacious, Duffy's directing capability is unquestionable and overall just a great movie I'd recommend to everyone. Much less pretentious than some Lock, Stock and the two smoking barrels, just as funny as Snatch and bringing back Reservoir Dogs memories. And some scenes in it are just unforgettable.

    Great indie cinema days. Can't wait for the sequel. Even if it's not as original and brilliant.
  • bargeroughdlt
    December 7, 2009
    bargeroughdlt
    one of the very few movies I think needs 5 stars.
  • LisaMichelleAckles
    December 5, 2009
    LisaMichelleAckles
    I freaking LOVE this film!!! It was quite violent but it's a great film with alot of action and suspense. This is the film where i first fell in love with Sean Patrick Flanery and ever since i've seen nearly all of his films. He was great as Connor and Norman Reedus also did a gr...( read more)eat job as Murphy. Willem Dafoe dressed as a woman is also something i'll never forget seeing!!! I can't wait to see the sequel as it's been 10 years since this one so it's about time!!!
  • sstillio
    December 5, 2009
    sstillio
    I really liked this movie. Good laughs and good action.
  • lessommerville
    December 4, 2009
    lessommerville
    Crazy Irish Brothers
  • samasookie
    December 3, 2009
    samasookie
    "And shepherds we shall be, for thee my lord for thee. Power hath descended forth from thy hand so our feet may swiftly carry out thy command. And we shall flow a river forth to thee and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti."

    Rocco:...( read more) "is it dead?"
    (when there's nothing left but a blood smear of that cat....)

    You killed my... my...
    Rocco: [putting a gun to his head] Your what? I'll shoot myself in the head if you can tell me that fucking cat's name! Your what? Your precious, little...
    Donna: Skippy! Skippy!
    Rocco: Aw, Jesus! What color was it, bitch?
View All Reviews

Opening This Week

Top Box Office

Upcoming Movies

New on DVD