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This 1999 movie about very religious (fraternal) Boston Irish twins never got much accord but seemed tempting so I watched the other night and enjoyed it quite a bit. Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus play the twins, who seem to be in their early 20s; their background is never really explained but despite despising violent criminals they sure know their way around guns and knives. This is the only film from writer/director Troy Duffy, so not much with which to compare it.
At the opening of The Boondock Saints the twins are enjoying a night in their neighborhood Irish bar with some pals when a trio of Russian gangsters show up to close the place down a few days ahead of schedule, to which the patrons object, violently. Two of the Russians end up dead in the alley and Willem Dafoe shows up as an FBI agent who takes over, since he’s already investigating the Russian gang.
The twins turn themselves in and are released as having acted in self-defense (which they were) after a wave of community pressure. When a message comes in one of the dead guys’ pager with instructions to show up at a hotel room, they gear up with guns, knives and rope and wipe out all nine local leaders. Acrobatcally. This goes on with several more slayings, with the addition of a low-level Italian mob flunky added to the ‘team’.
Did I mention that Dafoe’s character is gay? Not that he’s flaming but there is one bed scene and another with him dressed up as a hot chick. He’s rarely looked as much like Dennis Leary’s twin than here, I think.
Finally the Mafia boss gets nervous about it maybe being his turn next and pulls strings to get a dangerous killer (Billy Connolly) paroled. The thing is, Il Duce only kills killers. There’s a showdown with him and the youngsters, with no clear victor. Then Duffy throws in a pretty good twist.
As with War of the Worlds, I think the key to my enjoyment is the pacing. Saints never slows down to where you can wonder about how they keep getting away with it, nor are their any talky explanatory scenes. Not a classic but a decent movie.
recommended
