When two Irish brothers kill two members of the Russian mafia in self-defense, they hear a calling from God that they must punish the wicked or bad men in order for the good to flourish, starting with the Russian and Italian mafia. As a friend teams up with the duo, a gay, eccentric FBI agent is tasked to solve their identities while a part of him admires the work they have done in the community. What works really well about this film is that it perfectly balances an over-the-top tone with a story that feels grounded in reality. This is not your typical action blockbuster with the unstoppable hero going up against an army of bodybags. This is a film that is at times edgy, satirical, and even intellectual over self-right justice, vigilantism and how people view them. I won't spoil the ending, but there's a brilliant scene that plays over the credits that mirrors our reality and how the everyman would either agree with the actions of the Saints or disagree with their violent ways. The film also has its share of funny moments, which is mainly due to the entertaining characters and charisma of the cast. If there is one issue with the story, it's that the pacing and story direction is a bit all over the place, as once the Russian mafia is out of the picture, the group turn their guns to the Italian mafia. I feel that perhaps the group should've focused on taking care of other small-scale criminals such as rapists or neo-Nazis. The focus on taking down the mafia is a bit too standard in the genre and the ones depicted in the film aren't the most evil bunch in media.
Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Connor and Murphy MacManus are just great as the onscreen brothers. You can feel their chemistry being so genuine and caring as the two bicker with each other from Connor's action-movie loving mindset and Murphy's hot-headed attitude. Both brothers are written so that one isn't written to steal the other's spotlight. You can like both characters equally for their own personalities. Willem Dafoe as Agent Smecker though is perhaps the best character and one of Dafoe's best performances in his career. Smecker is a man who's so good in his job that he simply enjoys mocking the local police force with his flamboyant personality and enhanced knowledge of dissecting a crime scene. Dafoe puts so much commitment to this character that it's actually awe-inspiring as not only is the character so over-the-top and a bit demeaning, but the scene where he disguises himself as a women shows true dedication and how talented the legendary actor can be. David Della Rocco plays Rocco, a friend of the MacManus brothers and the third member of their crusade as he plans to take revenge against the Italian mafia for setting him up to a death trap. Rocco is insane, hammy, and a bit unlikeable, but you understand why the brothers care for him, as he's not only a man with plenty of info, but he is also committed to killing bad people. As much as he does feel like a scumbag, you do start to feel for the character as the film progresses. Lastly, there's Billy Connolly as Il Duce, a mysterious assassin who is tasked to kill the Saints. While he doesn't say much, his presence in scenes work effectively to show how dangerous of a man he is, until a hidden revelation about his identity is shown. There are other characters such as the local police officers assisting Smecker and the members of the mafia, but they don't stand out much due to the main cast just soaking up the spotlight. Although Dafoe might be the huge takeaway performance, Flanery, Reedus and Rocco manage to stay afloat with their engaging characters and charisma.
Troy Duffy is a director who although has very few titles to his career, proves to be a creative mind with his passion project. There is some amateur filmmaking though that sticks out like a sore thumb. The film takes place in Boston, but it was clearly shot in Toronto, which careful viewers can find TD Bank and the CN Tower in the background. The opening credit sequence is sketchy, and the use of fade to black transitions feel a bit awkward at times. However, outside of these issues, Duffy knows how to direct the meat of the film, which are the action and crime-solving sequences. Instead showing the action and have Smecker piecing the crime-scene together, we instead see the aftermath of the action and as Smecker pieces more and more of the evidence, the more we see of the action taking place. However, Duffy would also switch things up as there's an excellent sequence where we see Smecker describing what took place while we see the action unfold while sharing the same space as the Saints in a creative and visually engaging scene, along with Dafoe's scene-chewing charisma. The editing and direction of these sequences as well as every part of the action and comedic moments are just perfect. The cinematography also has great use of low angles, close-ups, and establishing shots for these sequences. I also like the choice to have a more gritty, dirty, unpolished look to the film along with the lack of striking colours outside of some bright interiors, as it adds to the film's story of the Saints cleansing the evil that lurks though the city that's more scummy than morally correct. The score by Jeff Danna is 90's cheese with the edgy, almost skater boy quality to it, but it does work for the film. I can't recall much of the soundtrack outside of that. To be honest, I wish Duffy gets more work as a director, because he clearly shows creative talent with a low budget, so imagine with a much bigger one that can iron out some amateur mistakes.
"The Boondock Saints" is one of my favourite action films, despite its flaws. The story could have done without the mafia being the villains, the side characters aren't very memorable outside of the one cop Smecker makes fun of, and Duffy's uses of fade to black transitions and awkward editing in the beginning of the film gives off a TV movie vibe to newcomers. However, despite this first impression, the film manages to become an unexpected classic. From the great story dealing with vigilantism in a realistic, but fun matter, the perfect tone to balance the humour and the grounded reality the film sets up, the main cast is excellent to say the least with memorable characters and performances, Duffy's creative and brilliant directing with the action and crime solving sequences, good cinematography to attach itself to these great sequences, editing that perfectly emulates the vision of the director, and a score that matches the goofy, fun half of the film. It's a shame that the franchise is practically dead with very little flow in the industry as the concept and characters need to be expanded on to cover other sides of the police force and the criminal underworld. It's a film that, underneath its cover of glorifying violence and twisted forms of justice, has a sold theme and proves some sort of relevancy today.
Verdict: 8/10. A great film that's flaws barely take away from the excellent qualities. Watch it if you never saw it, it's going to give you a good time no matter what.
No comments:
Post a Comment