Armando Montano
Fans of the cult classic original, The Boondock Saints, may find themselves giddy in anticipation for the sequel. Boondocks Saints II sees the return of all those vitally involved in the original, Troy Duffy returns as director while Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus return to reprise their roles as two brothers who become graced vigilantes.
After the MacManus family assassinated their ultimate foe, Papa Joe Yakavetta from the original, they left Boston for Ireland and remained dormant in a secluded farmhouse for eight years. When their uncle Sibeal tracks them down and informs them that a Boston priest they knew was assassinated by a copycat killer using their method, the MacManus brothers don their old clothes and guns once again and depart for Boston. En route to Boston, they befriend a Mexican fighter, Romeo, who offers his resources in Boston to the saints in exchange to be allowed to join them. They soon learn of Papa Joe’s son, Concezio Yakavetta, and the saints suspect that he may have hired the hitman to kill the priest causing the saints to come out of hiding. Meanwhile, detectives of the murder are joined by Special Agent Bloom, Special Agent Paul Smecker’s protégé.
While the investigation gets underway in attempts to discover who really is behind the Assassination and the motives the assassin had, the saints begin their own violent investigation only to discover that the assassination of the priest was only the beginning of a deeper and more sinister plot involving old grudges, family feuds and overdue vendettas that will only amount in the saints and their friends fighting their way through the swarms of enemies they face.
The film shows that the MacManus Family carried on with their lives since the events of the original. While many fans can argue that the film vaguely places itself as the rightful sequel, it is clearly the same works at hand for the first film that aids in the creation of this one. Tetchy at points, with some factors of the sequel taking away from the mysteries created in the first film, All Saints Day carries on the mythology of the first while showing that the story has had time to mature and solidify. It comes to be a film that in reflection of the story and film as a whole, the viewer can come to truly appreciate the reasons behind the way the film portrayed the MacManus family and their friends a whole decade later. Viewers should be warned that due to the limited release nationwide the anticipation may build up too much that it may come to be a disappointment once finally seen. To that extent, viewers must have faith that the film is a continuation of the original story. As an action film All Saints Day does deliver, but with just as much gritty seediness as the first one, which won its place among other cult classics.
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day runs 117 minutes and rated R for bloody violence, language and some nudity.
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