Don’t expect Boondock Saints 2 to be some kind of cinematic masterpiece; this is a fun movie. The story about vigilante justice that could really be set anywhere, despite its Boston roots. Though, once one accepts that realism isn’t the goal here, it’s easier to embrace the ridiculousness.
The sequel picks up eight years from the end of the last movie. The MacManus brothers (Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus) are in Ireland with their father, Il Duce (Billy Connolly), who they were reunited with in the original. Upon hearing that a priest has been killed in Boston in a similar fashion to their famous crimes, they spring back into action. They even pick up a feisty Mexican fighter named Romeo (Clifton Collins Jr.) along the way.
A new addition is Eunice Bloom (Julie Benz), the prot’eacute;g’eacute; of Willem Dafoe’s Smecker, who has been sent to catch the brothers. It is clear that ‘Bloomie’ is supposed to be this sultry sleuth, a trait that the movie tries to sell a little too hard. Benz’s southern accent makes her sound like a Brenda Leigh Johnson wannabe, especially when native Texan Flannery utters a few lines in a southern accent. Although this gets slightly better as the film goes on, it is definitely distracting.
Unlike the first film, which only made occasional references to bad television, the sequel embraces satire and over-the-top violence. For example, in one scene Connor MacManus admits that he got one idea from an old Connery flick and the boys fantasize about their plans for a shootout in the style of a 70s B-movie. Romeo asks a guy he tied up to help him come up with the perfect catchphrase.
Delicate prairie flowers beware: this movie’s humor is crude and mostly involves killing people in disturbingly creative ways. There are numerous jokes about sodomy and at one point Connor pretends to rape Romeo with a lobster. The flashback scenes involving Il Duce’s transformation into an assassin are almost comically bloody.
Despite the local setting, Boondock Saints 2 is no Departed. But the cultish following of the first film will find a lot to love here.
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