Boondock Saints-Unrated Special Edition (1999)

"...an ingenious mix of humor, horror, mysticism, and just plain hipness.  Joan Anderman, Boston Globe

Editor's Note Fraternal twins Conner (Flanery - SUICIDE KINGS) and Murphey (Reedus - GOSSIP) MacMannus are on a mission from God to rid Boston of crime. However, instead of signing up for the police force, these hard-drinking Irish-American brothers take the law into their own hands a la Charles Bronson in DEATH WISH. Heralded as saints by the city's beleaguered residents, the brothers also attract the attention of Paul Smecker (Dafoe - EXISTENZ), the openly gay FBI special agent assigned to investigate the spate of killings amongst the ranks of the Russian mafia. First-time director Duffy pulls out all the breaks in this inventive, action-packed thriller sure to please fans of HARD BOILED and RESERVOIR DOGS.

	Billy Connolly
	Norman Reedus
	Sean Patrick Flanery
	Willem Dafoe
	Adam Kane - Cinematographer
	Bill DeRonde - Editor
	Chris Brinker, et. al. - Producer
	Jeff Danna - Original Music By
	Troy Duffy - Director
	Troy Duffy - Writer

Ultimate DVD
3 stars out of 5 -- "Willem Dafoe's performance leaps out due to its sheer theatricality..." 07/01/2006 p.96

FilmCritic.com 6 of 10
Already an insanely overrated cult classic, The Boondock Saints has Irish (and super-religious) brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) taking Boston by storm as vigilantes ridding the town of evildoers...Stylish and fun in a cheeseball sort of way (think Tarantino without the retro hipness), these Saints are amusing enough -- until the endless gunplay, blood-splattering, and monotonous Screaming Matches wear you down. I'd had enough within 45 minutes, but you'll have to make it through 110... and then there's the sequel that's on the way. - Christopher Null

DVD Times 7 of 10
The Boondock Saints is a mixed bag of juicy apples and rotten bananas. There are sequences when the visually frenetic style of director Troy Duffy elevates the film to a classier status, and yet there are other sequences when the film is worse than TV Movie fare. Maybe this is because the film is so confused. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a Tarantino-esque black comedy, or a serious drama dealing with religious tinted vigilantism. Anyhow, vigilantism was dealt with in a much more convincing manner in the classic Taxi Driver or Magnum Force, and The Boondock Saints certainly offers nothing new on the subject. - Raphael Pour-Hashemi