The Boondock Saints (1999)

TOMATOMETER

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AUDIENCE SCORE

Critic Consensus: A juvenile, ugly movie that represents the worst tendencies of directors channeling Tarantino.


Movie Info

Feeling that they are doing God's will, two Catholic men from Boston set out to kill everyone in this Reservoir Dogs-style vigilante thriller. Brothers Conner and Murphy MacManus (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) take to performing their divine duty against the Russian mob. They massacre a bunch of unsuspecting Mafioso in a scene of absurd violence, then they let more blood in a mass killing of porn-shop customers. Instead of getting thrown in jail, they are dubbed "saints" by the Boston … More

Rating: R (for strong violence, language, and sexual content)
Genre: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy
Directed By:
Written By: Troy Duffy
In Theaters:
On DVD: May 21, 2002
Runtime:
Indican - Official Site

Cast


as Paul Smecker

as Conner MacManus

as Murphy MacManus

as Detective Dolly

as Detective Duffy

as Detective Greenly

as Monsignor

as Mackle Penny

as McGerldn

as Rosengurtle

as Ivan Checkov

as Officer Newman

as Officer Chaffey

as Officer Langley

as Beat-up Woman

as Reporter No. 1

as Reporter No. 2

as Officer Mitchell

as Virginal Woman

as Media Man No. 1

as Media Man No. 2

as Yakavetta

as Vincenzo Lipazzi

as Irish Gun Dealer

as The Fat Man

as Dancer

as The Priest

as Drug Dealer

as Forensic Woman No. 1

as Sick Mob Man

as Correctional Officer

as Geno

as Chappy

as Langley

as Mafia Man

as Mafiosa No. 1

as Mafiosa No. 2
Show More Cast

News & Interviews for The Boondock Saints

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Critic Reviews for The Boondock Saints

All Critics (25) | Top Critics (2)

Satire or self-parody would be vastly preferable to the film's unironic endorsement of outlaw justice, but you'd be hard pressed to find anything resembling irony or subversiveness in this exercise in lovingly rendered ultra-violence.

Full Review… | July 26, 2011
AV Club
Top Critic

More interested in finding fresh ways to stage execution scenes than in finding meaning behind the human urge for self-appointed righting of wrongs, pic is stuffed with effects that have no lasting impact.

Full Review… | May 9, 2008
Variety
Top Critic

Willem Dafoe's portrayal of the conflicted homosexual FBI agent is overacted to such an extent that it is hilarious, amazing and entertaining. His is an unforgettable character.

Full Review… | March 7, 2013
Laramie Movie Scope

Duffy's models are clearly snarky, ultraviolent Tarantino-esque crime pictures, but this movie's cleverness is never quite on a par with its bloodlust.

Full Review… | July 26, 2011
TV Guide's Movie Guide

An embarrassing waste of time, and nothing even resembling the guiltiest of guilty pleasures...

Full Review… | August 17, 2010
Cinema Crazed

[A] dim-witted, aesthetically clunky Tarantino clone.

Full Review… | October 23, 2009
Lessons of Darkness

Audience Reviews for The Boondock Saints

Two Irish Catholic fraternal twin brothers, inspired by the divine, embark on a mission of bloodshed throughout Boston's criminal underworld as a flamboyant government agent tries to apprehend them while simultaneously taking their side in the stylish, memorable, and wildly entertaining cult favorite.

Oh man, how times (or at least me) have changed. When I first saw this, I was blown away. I thought it was an amazing work of art and it proved pretty influential to my life, at least for a while. Now, after revisiting it nearly a decade after first seeing it, I find myself more critical, less impressed, and having a more nuanced reaction.

The MacManus Brothers seem like vigilantes who only go after serious sinners, but no, they're not true vigilantes. If anything, they're more like psychotic religious zealots who go on serial killeresque rampages. Sure, they're doing good, but, when you really think about it, they're pretty messed up guys themselves.

I still like the religious elements, and the questions of morality and moral ambiguity, but, while I generally like antiheroes, this is a case where the moral ambiguity kinda makes me feel uncomfortable, and it disturbs me some. However, since the film is really idiosyncratic, stylish, and super cool, I can't hate on it too much, as it is entertaining. Yeah, it's pretty derivative, and maybe tries a bit too hard, but I think it still kinda works, even if it is messy, and has become ridiculously popular.

Yeah, I'm complaining, but I'm still giving this a pretty high rating because, well, it is fun, it is entertaining, it does raise good questions and makes you think about things, and well, I dunno. It just has this odd appeal to it. Plus, the casting and acting (namely Dafoe, Flannery, Reedus, and Connolly) are solid, and, when the film works, it works well. Yeah, sometimes it goes a little overboard, but it mostly holds it all in.

Bottom line: see this thing already. I know it's become a cliche to love this movie, and I admit to blindly going nuts for it, but I have since matured, and, while I know it has a lot of problems, it's still a good movie. Plus, sentimentality is a bitch. I can't hate on something too hard that helped shaped who I've become.

cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

 

djdemersseman
Daniel J DeMersseman

Super Reviewer

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Directors Cat
Directors Cat

Super Reviewer

The Boondock Saints Quotes

– Submitted by Russ M (15 months ago)
– Submitted by Nick S (2 years ago)
– Submitted by Johonna D (2 years ago)
– Submitted by Sara D (3 years ago)

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