The Second Coming (of the Saints. Jesus is still on Vacation)

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I hope you can all say likewise. Also, when did "tryptopantastic" become a word? I think I should be notified about these things. Is there a mailing list I can get on or something?

I saw Boondock Saints 2. I wasn't expecting much, and for that reason I was very pleasantly surprised that they actually did a really good job with this film. In large part, it's a rehash of the first. If you liked the first one, you'll almost definitely like the sequel. And if you didn't like the first one, you'll be equally nonplussed by this.

For the most part, it follows almost exactly the same formula as the first one, tossing in a reference to its predecessor approximately three times per scene. In some ways it reminds me of most comedy sequels, where they simply reuse all the old jokes with a new coat of paint. It does, however, manage to be a wonderful time for the fans of the first one. I saw it at one PM on a Saturday, and the theater was so packed that my brother and I had to sit in the front row to find two seats next to each other. And everyone in that theater seemed to respond fairly well to the movie, roaring with laughter and applause with a frequency which made me grateful of the fact Troy Duffy was presumptuous enough to throw in a pause for laughs after most of the better jokes.

The old jokes are recycled, but usually in a clever enough way to still be funny. The film brings very little new to the table, but it does manage to deftly revive almost everything we loved about the old one. The brothers, their father are played by the same three actors, the bumbling Irish cops from the first movie come back (they seem to have had a couple acting lessons since the first one) with an unexpectedly humorous new routine, and even the untimely demise of David Dela Rocco's character in the first movie doesn't stop him from having a couple of monologues.

Clifton Collins Jr., is rather awkwardly shoehorned into his role as the new sidekick. He is introduced as some kind of untouchable kung fu Spaniard, but that entire aspect of his character is instantly forgotten as he spontaneously adopts Rocco's persona as the slightly-retarded but well-connected sidekick. Still, he manages to make the role his own to some degree, and by the end of the movie I found myself viewing him as more than just a Rocco-clone.

One thing I was disappointed in was Julie Benz. I loved her on Angel, and I don't think she can be held personally responsible for this, but she simply couldn't reproduce Willem Dafoe. If the moviemakers had realized that, she's pretty and talented enough that she could have given them something to work with, but it seems that somebody in charge was insistent that she be cast as a female version of Willem Dafoe's character from Boondock Saints I, and that just wasn't happening.

One aspect of the film I really liked was that while the Saints are certainly a couple of badass action heroes, they aren't very bright and they generally don't plan very well. The first film made a minor note of this, particularly in the penthouse shootout scene, but in this movie the point is really driven home that these guys have absolutely no idea what they are doing. It reminds the audience that this isn't a formulaic action flick so much as a parody of formulaic action flicks.

Which, in the end, is what makes or breaks this movie. As a simple action or a simple comedy, it is probably sub-par. Some films, like Shoot-Em-Up, are action movies that aren't meant to be taken seriously. this is a comedy that is meant to be taken seriously. In the end, you will probably feel the same way about this movie that you did about the first one.