On B List of Movie Reviews
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The Boondock Saints (1999)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
5/18
5/18:
The Boondock Saints is an indication of obsession with comic book films run amok.
An amateurishly made movie, it's uneven that's often over the top in writing, acting, and, most important of all, themes.
The main characters claim to be all about vigilantism, yet once Rocco the idiot enters the picture, it has to be
free-for-all violent to the point of glorification. I couldn't believe my eyes when Willem Dafoe's character, an FBI agent,
took their side.
Everybody sounds corny when they attempt to mimic the style of conversations from Quentin Tarantino's and Guy Ritchie's films.
The Catholic prayer speech is ripped off from Jules Winnfield's recitation of Ezekiel 25:17 passage in
Pulp Fiction, cheapening the film even further. When Rocco got angry and slammed his fists down on the table in the
dining room, his gun went off, blowing the cat into bloody smithereens against the wall. I didn't think the scene was funny
or cool.
Among the fewest saving graces is Willem Dafoe. He has rediscovered his Oscar-caliber form as seen in
Platoon and
therefore carries The Boondock Saints most of the way. However, I don't think he believed in the material that much; the
strength of the script is what enticed his interest in the first place. Willem Dafoe probably knew that he had nothing to lose
by being silly and inappropriate.
Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus are terrible actors, so they have to resort to different tricks to look "cool" as often
as possible to mask their deficiencies. David Della Rocco, who's not bad at times, overdoes his performance. Billy
Connolly and the rest of the cast are a joke.
The plot is too stupid to believe with the last twenty minutes going haywire. Death Wish made sense, but the action was
illegal. But here, it's murder, and innocent people are almost always caught in the crossfire.
All in all, The Boondock Saints is a wannabe Quentin Tarantino/Guy Ritchie movie with some John Woo thrown in.