“The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” is literally an adrenaline pumping, action-packed, kick ass film which I found much better than the first. Also, the film definitely gets the Blu-ray treatment! Awesome PQ and AQ and awesome Blu-ray exclusives not available on the DVD.
© 2009 Boondock Saints II Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
DURATION: 117 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:35:1), English, French (Par), Portuguest 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: R (For Bloody Violence, Language and Some Nudity)
RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2010
Directed by Troy Duffy
Screenplay by Troy Duffy
Story by Troy Duffy, Taylor Duffy
Produced by Chris Brinker, Don Carmody
Executive Produced by Robert N. Fried, Lloyd Segan
Associate Producer: Catherin Gourdier
Music by Jeff Dana
Cinematography by Miroslaw Baszak
Edited by Bill DeRonde, Paul Kumpata
Production Design by Dan Yarhi
Art Direction by Dennis Davenport
Set Decoration by Steve Shewchuck
Costume Design by Georgina Yarhi
Starring:
Sean Patrick Flanery as Connor
Norman Reedus as Murphy
Bill Connolly as Poppa
Clifton Collins Jr. as Romeo
Julie Benz as Eunice
Bob Marley as Greenly
Brian Mahoney as Duffy
David Ferry as Dolly
David Della Rocco as Rocco
Peter Fonda as the Roman
Judd Nelson as Concezio Yakavetta
From Troy Duffy, writer and director of The Boondock Saints, comes the much anticipated sequel to the tough, stylized cutting edge saga of the MacManus brothers (Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery). The two have been in deep hiding with their father, Il Duce (Billy Connolly), in the quiet valleys of Ireland, far removed from their former vigilante lives. When word comes that a beloved priest has been killed by sinister forces from deep within the mob, the brothers return to Boston to mount a violent and bloody crusade to bring justice to those responsible. With a new partner in crime (Clifton Collins Jr., Star Trek) and a sexy FBI operative (Julie Benz, TV’s “Dexterâ€) hot on their trail…the Saints are back!
In 2000, “The Boondock Saints” which was written and directed by Troy Duffy received a limited release in only five theaters in one week. Critically panned, one would think the film would fade to obscurity. But this was not the case. Similar to Kevin Smith’s “Clerks”, “The Boondock Saints” amassed a huge underground following and had become a cult film grossing $50 million in domestic video sales.
The first film revolved around three Catholic Irish anti-heroes – Poppa (played by Bill Connolly) and his two fraternal twin sons Connor (played by Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (played by Norman Reedus) MacManus who are vigilantes that take on the Russian mafia with their way and their style of vigilante payback.
A decade later, with the popularity of the first film, “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” is backed by Sony Pictures and given a nationwide theatrical release in 67 theaters and due to fan demand, more cities were added to the release. Once again, the critics were not so supportive of the film but yet the fans have once again come to support the film and the film made over $10 million in the box office but now Blu-ray and DVD release will be unleashed to the masses and I have no doubt that once again, “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” is going to do well.
In “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day”, eight years have passed and after the three men murdered Giuseppe “Papa Joe” Yakavetta (and countless members of the mafia).
When a priest was murdered, someone tries to frame the Saints and now the police (especially the Saint’s friends on the inside) are worried that the Saints who have been quiet are back to cause more mayhem. The public is still divided on their feelings towards the Saints.
Meanwhile, the Saints are called in for their help and to avenge the death of the priest. As the two travel back to the U.S. by boat, a man named Romeo (played by Clifton Collins Jr.) who has idolized the Saints wants to be part of their crew and needless to say, he has to earn his place amongst the group.
As for the police, Greenly (played by Bob Marley), Duffy (played by Brian Mahoney) and Dolly (David Ferry) worry that their friends may be back and with the FBI sending one of their top investigators named Eunice (played by Julie Benz) to assist them, they worry that the FBI may find out that the three detectives assisted the Saints back then. Eunice is not only intelligent and sexy (easily catching the attention of the three detectives) but she can easily come up in her mind of what happens at a crime scene plus she’s also known to be very good with her gun as well.
While the Saints look for who killed the priest, the FBI and police looking for the Saints, the media hype has attracted the attention of Conzezio Yakavetta (played by Judd Nelson) who wants revenge for the Saints murdering his father on public television. So, once again, the Yakavetta family are planning to get their revenge against the Saints.
Who will end up victorious?
VIDEO:
“The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” is featured in 1080p High Definition (2:35:1). Cinematography by Miroslaw Baszak did a pretty solid job with the overall shots. The action sequences are well-done, enjoyed the lighting of several of the sequences. Those well-lighted scenes are vibrant while certain scenes are cold and bluish. I didn’t notice any artifacts, nor did I notice any DNR. The picture quality has a fine layer of grian, blacks are nice and deep and overall, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment did a solid job in terms of picture quality for the Blu-ray release.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” is presented in English, French (Par) and Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. As expected with a film that features guns ablazing, the film does feature a good amount of surround channel usage with the gun shots and bullets zipping through the air.
For the most part, dialogue and music is front channel driven but the action sequences definitely put your surround channels to good use and there is also some use of LFE as well.
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” comes with the following special features in Standard and High Definition with English Stereo and optional Spanish and Portuguese subtitles:
- Audio Commentary with writer/director Troy Duffy, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus and Billy Connolly – An entertaining commentary by Troy Duffy and the main cast discussing the film and just having fun discussing the film.
- Audio Commentary with writer/director Troy Duffy and Willem Dafoe – Interesting commentary since Willem Dafoe is not seen throughout the majority in the film but it’s like listening to two friends having a discussion while watching the film. But they do touch upon the messed up treatment from the first film and how things were much better in the sequel.
- Deleted Scenes – Featuring two deleted scenes: Detectives Mourn Death and Romeo Plays Chess
- Unprecedented Access: Behind-the-Scenes Featurette – (25:49) Behind-the-scenes of the making of the film and the director, producer and talent talk about working on this second film.
- Billy Connolly & Troy Duffy: Unedited – (9:22) Troy Duffy and Bill Connolly hanging out and Troy explaining how he wanted Bill to become Don and more. Bill talks about wanting to be part of this film despite his agent not wanting him to be part of it.
- Inside the Vault: The Weapon Featurette – (8:28) A Blu-ray exclusive. Charles Taylor (Heady Armorer) shows us the weapons used on “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day”.
- The Cast Confesses: Secrets from the Set Featurette -(7:13) A Blu-ray exclusive. The cast talks about being reunited for the sequel. The main cast talk about their characters and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the film.
- The Boondock Saints Hit Comic-Con – (57:02) A Blu-ray Exclusive. Featuring Troy Duffy and the cast leaving to San Diego Comic Con, the autograph signing and the panel. A lot of fan excitement and an absolutely awesome special feature!
- BD-Live Enabled With movieIQ, you can get real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the film.
“The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” is literally an adrenaline pumping, action-packed, kick ass film which I found much better than the first and literally had a lot of fun watching it.
What I find interesting is that “The Boondock Saints” was a film that didn’t even have a chance for a theatrical release but found a humongous cult following on video. And here we are with the sequel, the critics obviously share a different opinion towards this film but among the viewers, they loved the film. As for me, I really enjoyed the film and felt this Blu-ray release is awesome!
I enjoyed the addition of the new characters, enjoyed the action sequences, the weapons and enjoyed the story of this sequel. It’s a much different tone compared to the first film but the film definitely benefits from a slightly higher budget. And the surprise ending… I never saw that coming. So, I’m really excited for the possibility of a third “Boondock Saints” film.
It’s important to point out to those not familiar with the film is that “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day”, the film is more action. Yes, there is a storyline but for those expecting something deep are probably not going to find it in this sequel. The performances of the talent may seem off at times and I’m sure many will have issues with the Irish and the Southern accents used by the talents.
If anything, I expected nothing but an action-packed film featuring a lot of gun fighting, plenty of action and profanity but I really enjoyed the addition of Clifton Collins Jr. as Romeo and Julie Benz as Eunice. Collins brings the comedy portion with his character and Julie Benz brings the sexiness. And both characters definitely kick ass!
The Blu-ray release is absolutely fantastic although I can see some fans who have not upgraded to Blu-ray being a bit upset that the Comic-Con featurette (and two other featurettes) are only Blu-ray exclusives but as this is a Sony Pictures film and there is a move by the industry towards Blu-ray and Blu-ray exclusives not featured on a normal DVD release are to be expected.
Overall, “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” was an enjoyable action-based film. A lot of guns, a lot of violence, a lot of profanity and just overall, a fun film. There are also a good number of surprises, especially deaths of major characters in this film which was quite surprising.
If you enjoyed the first “Boondock Saints”, you’ll definitely enjoy the sequel. Definitely recommended!