HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II:
ALL SAINTS DAY

Studio: Sony Tri-Star

Year: 2009

Rated: R

Film Length: 1 hour, 57 minutes

Aspect Ratio: 1080p High Definition Widescreen (2.35:1)

Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD MA, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
 

Release Date: March 9, 2010
 

The Movie

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day is the follow-up to the uber-violent 1999 film starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, and Willem Dafoe. The MacManus brothers (Flanery and Reedus) have left Boston behind following the end of the first film and are keeping a low profile in Ireland with their father, Il Duce(Billy Connolly). When the brothers hear that a copycat killer is making efforts in Boston to frame them and smear their good names, they return to bring their unique brand of justice to the responsible parties. A new ally (Clifton Collins, Jr.) joins up with the brothers to help them on their way. The brothers also find a new ally in FBI Special Agent Susan Bloom(Julie Benz) who is a protégé of Agent Smecker, played in the original by Dafoe. Judd Nelson plays the new head of the Yakevetta crime family, which has a bone to pick with the MacManus Brothers.
 

The original Boondock Saints has acquired a cult following in the years since it premiered as writer/director Troy Duffy’s first film. Duffy returns here as writer and director of the film. At risk of offending fans of the original film, I found that film to be schizophrenic in tone; it could not decide if it was trying to be realistic and serious, or quirky, and it ended up being a little bit of both. Although the same could be said of this sequel, I enjoyed this film more than the original.
 

The Boondock Saints II succeeds where the original failed by not taking itself so seriously. The hardcore violence and other elements that marked the original film are fully present in this sequel, but by casting aside the first film’s pretensions of verisimilitude, this sequel succeeds in surpassing the original film for entertainment value.
 

Video

The movie is in 1080p high definition in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The picture quality and fine detail are excellent. Film grain is minor and there are no compression artifacts to mar the presentation. Edge enhancement and DNR do not appear to be notably present in any scenes.
 

Audio
 

The English 5.1 DTS-HD MA tracks make full use of every speakers with more than the average amount of deep bass. Directional audio is well employed and the ambient sounds make you feel like you are there, even when firearms are not blazing. This is reference or near reference quality audio.
 

Special Features

The special features include all of the following:
 

Feature Commentary: Writer/director Troy Duffy and stars Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, and Billy Connolly provide an engaging feature length commentary.
 

Feature Commentary: Willem Dafoe collaborates with writer/director Troy Duffy on this alternate commentary track.
 

Deleted Scenes (2:38): This consists of 2 brief scenes.
 

Unprecented Access: Behind The Scenes Featurette (25:49): This is an interesting documentary about production of the film.
 

Billy Connolly and Troy Duffy: Unedited (9:22): This feature appears to have been filmed on the set with Connolly and Duffy bantering back and forth.
 

The Cast Confesses: Secrets from the Set (7:13): Cast and crew provide brief comments on making the film.
 

Inside The Vault: The Weapons (8:28): Head Armorer Charles Taylor discusses the decisions made in selecting certain firearms for the film and demonstrates some of the hardware.
 

The Boondock Saints Hit Comic-Con (57:02): This featurette includes the full presentation from Comic Con International 2009 attended by Duffy, Flanery, Reedus, and Connolly.
 

Trailers: This feature includes a multitude of film previews, although some are extremely short:

Black Dynamite (0:16)

Universal Soldier: Regeneration (1:25)

Damned United (2:05)

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (1:44)

H2: Halloween II (0:17)

Breaking Bad season 2 (0:32)

Snatch (2:01)

Moon (0:32)

Zombieland (0:31)

The Da Vinci Code (1:06)
 

Trailers for Damned United, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Moon, and Zombieland also appear by default after the disc is loaded and prior to the main menu.
 

BD Live Blu Ray players connected to the internet can access the movieIQ feature, which presents information about the cast, crew, production, and music during the movie via a pop-up window. The window takes up about one-third of the screen and the trivia will be of little interest to most viewers. The BD Live feature also gives access to downloadable content such trailers for other films.
 

Conclusion
 

Some fans of the original film will inevitably be disappointed by The Boondock Saints II. This reviewer is not one of them, since I enjoyed this film much more than the original. This sequel succeeds in discarding the weak elements of the original film while retaining the parts that made the first film stand out. Willem Dafoe’s performance in the first film was terrific, and one wishes that his character had returned to play prominently in this film, however, I enjoyed this film in spite of that fact. The video and audio qualities of this Blu-Ray edition are excellent, and this disc includes a wealth of special features. If you like your action movies to be hardcore, then The Boondock Saints II comes recommended as part of your video library.