The Boondock Saints film review

The Boondock Saints is directed by Troy Duffy, who also directed its sequel: The Boondock Saints: All Saints Day. The budget for the film was $6 million and the box office was $30,471. Though only a low box office compared to the Godfather of 1972 (which shares the same genres) which hit a box office of $245.1–286 million, still the Boondock saints received a 7.5 out of 10 of those who had gone to watch it in the theatres.

The story of two twins, starring Norman Reedus and Sean Partrick-Flanery, grabbed the audience by the first scene. The cinematography used invites the audience to feel as if they are on the journey with the two the twins who ‘receive a message from god’. The film includes a lot of extreme close ups and mid shots which lets us, as the viewers experience what the twins are going through, through their emotions and even point of view shots. These allow us to enjoy the experience even further. Duffy also includes low angle and high angle shots to establish who the villains and the vigilantes are.


Due to the twins background, an element of Irish is hinted in the film even though the setting in Boston. A series of Irish music and disco funk is used whenever there is a ‘battle’ or ‘fight’ to make it more entertaining than just listening to gunfire. Partly because the film is about religion, the addition of soundtracks that do not include lyrics such as The Blood of Cuchulainn Composed by Jeff Danna and Mychael Danna and Stained Glass Composed by James Clarke are added to make us as the viewers feel calm and relaxed during a high action fight scene.


The visuals are quite believable. The usage of the gore and fake blood makes you believe that’s its real and what these men are doing is real however some say it’s not enough. The viewers want more gore and particularly so do I. However the explosives are life like due to the use of smoke and the sound effects of the actual bomb exploding which could easily give anyone a fright. Conversely the film is not HD and does not contain great graphics as it can be seen as fuzzy or bleary.


The narrative of the film does not follow event after event. Once one scene has ended such as a killing, the director has deliberately skipped into the future when the police are investigating the crime scene. On occasion through the film, during one scene it will flash through into the future event that happens at that location. I thoroughly enjoy this as it tends to give a twist to a normal event after event film.

Over all the performance of the film is brilliant, from both the actors and the director.

Rating: 8.5 /10