The Boondock Saints (1999)

French title:
“The Angels of Boston”

Directed & Written by: Troy Duffy

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus

Running Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

Rating:  R

Pre-Conceived Notions: This is another film that I’ve heard a lot about. A ton of my friends have always told me that I should go out to see this film. In my mind, I picture it to be kind of like Blade Runner, but Rotten Tomatoes says that it’s basically a movie trying really hard to be a Tarantino movie. I really see nothing wrong with that. Tarantino is a ground-breaking director who imitates and pays hommages to everyone. I’m anxious to see if this movie does “Tarantino” well, or if it misses the mark. 

Why I Haven't Seen This Film: Had to pick up some shirts at the dry cleaners. It was a long wait. 

1 hour, 48 minutes later…: I have to write this fast before my laptop battery dies. I loved this movie. It’s not often that you see a cop movie where you’re actually rooting for the good guys and the bad guys. Well, I guess in this case both Willem Dafoe and the Saints are the good guys, but that’s even rarer in a movie. 

I knew Bob Marley (the comedian, not the originator of reggae) was in this film but I thought he just had a cameo. His part was pretty huge. And I love it that they used actors from New England to be in this film to do the New English accents, because it seems like nobody outside of New England can pull it off. It either comes out Australian or Scottish, or I don’t know what. Our regional accent is much more complicated than just replacing all of the Rs with “AH”s. If you want a New English accent done right, you hire a New Englishman. End of story. 

What else? Oh, yes. All the critics seem to compare this movie with a Tarantino movie because of all the violence and gore and stuff. Well I am going to say that I liked this better than any Tarantino movie I’ve seen. The blood was not over the top or cartoonish. And it jived with the plot and the overall drive of the movie. Not once did I have a WTF moment watching this film. I have at least 5 of them whenever I watch any of Q’s stuff.

Final Thoughts: 6 out of 6. The movie moved right along; the plot was interesting and original, and I give it extra points for the exploding cat. That really made my night.