Defense of the Saints

"And Shepherds we shall be, For Thee, My Lord, For Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee, And teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomine Patri, Et Filli, Et Spiritus Sancti, Amen"

Over the last two months, I have discovered a new thing for me to obsess over; the Boondock Saints movies. On October 31st, the most impressive fan-based movie was released since 2005s Serenity, which I also loved. However, instead of being a follow-up to a popular sci-fi tv show that Fox screwed over, "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" was the follow up to a barely-released 1999 movie which was in theaters for a grand total of 4 days. Over the next ten years, "The Boondock Saints" has made millions of dollars and as many fans from dvd and video sales. The new movie is drawing out both the fans and the critics.

Myself, I definitely qualify for the first category. I saw the first movie at the end of September, and have watched in almost 30 times since. I downloaded the soundtrack of the first movie and saw the second movie twice in theaters. Why is it that Boondock Saints is so appealing? Is it perhaps the violence or the language? Certainly, with 246 uses of the "F-word" in the first film, it has plenty of language. There's also certainly no shortage of violence in both movies. That can't be it, though, because if one simply wants violence and language, there have been no shortage of movies that possess ample amounts of both. Boondock Saints contains just the right amount of violence, levity, thoughtfulness, and plain wackiness to attract people from all walks of life.

Myself, I find the premise of the movies interesting. The two McManus brothers, Connor and Murphy (Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus) receive a vision from God telling them to "destroy that which is evil, so that which is good may flourish." I don't believe in Divine visions, or at least, that they occur anymore, but I do believe that if God talked to people today, it is more likely that his message would be more along those lines than simply "I'm coming again soon, I'll protect the church" and every other thing he's already said in the scripture. I also am, as a libertarian, quite open to the idea of vigilantism in certain instances. The brothers' primary targets are mafiosos and other prominent, rich criminals who, due to their money and charisma, effectively are untouchable by the law. The entire idea of killing slime like this off, slime who are all-too-real, quite appeals to someone who believes vigilantism a form of civil rebellion when the government is being derelict in its duty.

The actors are also quite a varied lot. Neither Flannery or Reedus are particularly well known, Flannery's most prominent role being that of Young Indiana Jones and Reedus's most prominant role being Murphy McManus. Balancing these two relative unknowns are British comedy giant Billy Connolly as their father and Willem Dafoe, of "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Clear and Present Danger" fame. Connolly's role as their father is minimal in the first one, restricted mostly to quotations of both scripture and vengenace-themed prayers. In the second, Connolly becomes more involved, cementing his character as the ultimate "old-dude" badass. His six-gun holster is probably one of the most realistic, yet inventive, movie props that I've seen in a while. Dafoe's character is simply genius. A homophobic homosexual FBI agent, Dafoe brings the right mix of genius, arrogance, and neurosis to his character, enough to steal the show from the Irish twins. Comedian David Dela Rocco plays a version of himself that is essentially a stereotypical buffoon-with-a-good-heart, but he brings such a flair to the character to make it believable and simultaneously amusing. His charisma is such that I remember his two minute cameo in the second movie more vividly than the rest of the nearly two-hour film. Other relatively minor characters, like the three Irish cops who assist Dafoe's character, or the Mafia boss Joe Yakavetta are plaid with enough flair to make you remember them despite their lack of screentime.

The action is, quite simply, over the top. This is why I like it. Being a weapons aficionado, I have not yet seen a realistic action movie. The movie is almost a homage to Tarantino and John Wu, but contains enough originality to make it unique. True, the famous "firefight" scene is ridiculous, but did not defy the suspension of disbelief I bring to any action movie, unlike Reservoir Dogs or Grindhouse did. The violence is satisfying without being gratuitous, humorous, or "artsy." The one exception to the humor rule would be the death of Rocco's girlfriend's cat, which was so hysterical I had to pause the movie to laugh.

The dialogue is also one of the strong points of the movie. Most of it is believable, but contains enough wacky moments to raise an eyebrow. A good example would be the bartender from the beginning of the film's mixing popular proverbs together; "people in glass houses sink ships." The only downfall of the dialogue is a use of the f-word which outdoes even mine, and I have a mouth like a sailor. Though not quite as strong in the second, the f-word is present, which doesn't offend me due to my frequent use of it, but might bother people of a more sensitive nature. The strong point of the dialogue is that almost every part of it is quotable. It's a giant quotes movie, where most of the quotes are original, which is refreshing after Tarantino's pop-culture ridden movies like Kill Bill. Especially epic is the prayer of the saints, which I quoted at the top, and Connolly's pseudo-religious snippets heard throughout the movie.

To sum it up: I was entertained. Movies are not there to be an "artform," but to entertain us. I was entertained, I was amused, I wished to see the movies again. True, the movies have their downsides, as does every other movie, but all in all, I would rate both Boondock Saints movies A+, for the dialogue, premise, and characterization.