Review: ‘Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day’

Not many people know this, but the first Boondock Saints film barely even happened. After a one week run in five theaters, the film was released on DVD… and embraced by a massive cult following. A sequel was always promised and showed up on IMDB years before production had even begun, but after a while, fans started to doubt that we’d ever even see another installment. Now, ten years later, Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day happened, and thank the Lord it did.

All Saints Day picks up eight years after the McManus Brothers and their vigilante killing spree across Boston. They’ve fled to Ireland, along with their father, to find some peace and escape the insanity cause by their killings. But a copycat killer leaves their signature mark after murdering a priest and lure Connor and Murphy back to Boston to finish what they started eight years ago.

While some fans might be disappointed by the departure of Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) and Rocco (David Della Rocco), the additions to the cast are spectacular. Special Agent Eunice Bloom, played by Julie Benz (you’ll know her best as Dexter’s Rita) is spunky and unforgettable, and the McManus’ Brothers’ new protege Romeo, played by Clifton Collins, Jr., makes his mark as more than just a replacement for Rocco.

This movie is the ultimate fan service for the thousands of cult fanatics that embraced the first film. It follows the same sort of plot structure: the crime scene is shown, and Bloom puts the pieces together as flashbacks of the McManus Brothers on their killing sprees are mixed with the crime scene present. The film never feels repetitive or just an attempt to bank on the success of the first film.

This is an important story to be told, and vital to understanding the history of the McManus family. It’s also hilarious. This is some of the best writing I’ve ever seen in an action movie. This movie brings back everything that was great about the first film: the operatic soundtrack, the stylized action sequences, and makes them its own.

Written and directed by Troy Duffy, Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day is currently in 67 theaters, but gets an expanded release on November 17th. See it.