The Boondock Saints (1999)

Two Irish brothers accidentally killed mafia thugs. They turned themselves in and were released as heroes. They then see it as a calling by God and started knocking off mafia gang members one by one. Willem Dafoe plays the detective trying to figure out the killings, but the closer he was to catching the Irish brothers, the more he thinks the brothers are doing the right thing. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Troy Duffy
Written By: Troy Duffy
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Ron Jeremy, Billy Connolly, Norman Reedus, Kevin Chapman, Carlo Rota, David Ferry, Gerard Parkes, Bob Marley, David Della Rocco, Brian Mahoney
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller, Crime, Action
Franchise: The Boondock Saints
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The Boondock Saints belongs to 41 collections
1. Favorite Film of Every Criticker Member (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 95 stars)
2. Onion AV Club: The New Cult Canon (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 28 stars)
3. Directorial debut (collaborative: moderated by djross - 16 stars)
4. Vigilante / Revenge (collaborative: moderated by td888 - 14 stars)
5. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
6. Mafia (collaborative: moderated by mpowell - 9 stars)
7. Gay (collaborative: moderated by vincente - 9 stars)
8. Religion (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 8 stars)
9. Great Fights (collaborative: moderated by doctor7 - 6 stars)
10. Cult Classics (collaborative: moderated by Jellysauce - 5 stars)
11. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)
12. cultfilms (public: medium123 - 4 stars)
13. Top 1000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 3 stars)
14. Notworthy Films Staring: The Killer, Vigilante, Serial Killer, Hitman... (collaborative: moderated by TV+Film-Hub - 2 stars)
15. MovieMeter.nl Top 250 (collaborative: moderated by Jorg - 2 stars)
16. Hate it or love it (collaborative: moderated by comepelicula - 2 stars)
17. Tarantino-esque Movies (That Tarantino Didn't Make) (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 2 stars)
18. Top 2000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 2 stars)
19. Frequent Use of F*ck (collaborative: moderated by mucow - 1 star)
20. Animal killing (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 1 star)
21. True Action (collaborative - 1 star)
22. Duology (collaborative: moderated by Ag0stoMesmer - 1 star)
23. Films that most frequently use the word "fuck" (collaborative: moderated by elhenzo - 1 star)
24. "This isn't a movie!" (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 1 star)
25. Movies I Must See (public: gagknee - 1 star)
26. HarleyG's Movie of the Year (public: HarleyG - 1 star)
27. Action (collaborative: moderated by cgyrunner)
28. Quotable Movies (collaborative: moderated by TV+Film-Hub)
29. My Films (collaborative: moderated by Faggels)
30. Ratings (collaborative: moderated by cheapthrills)
31. polisiye (collaborative: moderated by ceseth)
32. Luna6ix's DVDs (public: Luna6ix)
33. deeveedee (public: medium123)
34. My DVDs (public: Kavu)
35. zae's DVDs & Blurays (public: zae)
36. 1999: Year in Review (public: polanski28)
37. Owned Films (public: TheSaberfool)
38. 1999: "The Blockbuster Year" (public: TV+Film-Hub)
39. 90lar (public: Ozancan)
40. P. Watchlist (public: nnraiden)
41. My ratings (public: tpbradbury)
Browse the full list of collections
Stars | User | Rating | |
10 | ![]() |
TedDedon | 43 14th |
One of the most ridiculously overrated movies I've ever seen. Some people think this is a brilliant movie; those people probably still play with tech decks and listen to Linkin Park.
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7 | theficionado | 0 3rd |
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Romanticizes vigilantism only to pull back in the midst of its ending credits to indict a media system that allows celebration of such violence even as it remains seemingly oblivious to the hypocrisy of the move. The nadir? A vastly over-qualified Willem Defoe, whose episode of cross-dressing is played out for laughs in an attempt to legitimize homophobia.
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6 | djfntstque | 40 10th |
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Worthless infantile pap for 16-year old boys. Imagine Tarantino with no balls, no awareness of other movies, and no budget, operating on the assumption that he's Ingmar Bergman.
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6 | ![]() |
Shmendrek | 1 10th |
So pointless and terrible I gave up on it halfway through. We're never told why we should care about ANY of this. I hated every character, every scene, every word of dialog, every song, everything. This movie was so stupid it actually made me angry. There's a scene where a character grabs an unconscious woman's exposed breast, and he was supposed to be a good guy. A cat is shot for no reason. Some lady kicks a guy in the balls in the first five minutes. I don't even know what to say.
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5 | legstump | 20 2nd |
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Compress the pent-up teen male angst and homophobia of your average internet videogame forum, mix well with videogame-induced desensitization to violence, project it through a post-Tarantino lens of smug, self-conscious faux-cool... And you'll get this shit.
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5 | ![]() |
timmo | 1 0th |
This may be the worst movie that so many of my peers enjoy ever. Awful awful awful. Willem DaFoe couldn't save this. It's terrible. Not entertaining, not meaningful. It has nothing to say. Ron Jeremy in that role? Billy Connolly in that role? Trying to bring religion into it in any way? Come on.
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5 | ![]() |
TonythePony | 44 10th |
Two unassuming knockabout Irish lads get caught up in gangland mafia business... oh yeah, they just happen to be extremely smart, well educated killing machines - who'd have thought? Ludicrous, unfunny, thinks its profound when its just pathetic.
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5 | ![]() |
lumpnboy | 25 9th |
Homophobic? Maybe. Fascistic? Perhaps. Sub-Tarrantino? Indubitably. But misogynist?
It's also misogynist.
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3 | duandsku | 1 0th |
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The single point I gave Boondock Saints is for the performance of Willem Dafoe, who has fun here and it shows, yet this movie managed to single-handedly ruin the credibility of Dafoe in other movies for his involvement here. Horrid, horrid, horrid in every regard, so mind-boggingly stupid, trite, as well self-important and put-offingly egocentric. Troy Duffy should be short-listed for the worst director of all time award. The reception this has managed to find in rental stores makes me feel
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3 | lonercm | 0 2nd |
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Ignore the internet buzz - this is ugly, derivative, packed to the gills with post-Tarantino "hip" and full of shit in basically every possible way.
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3 | ![]() |
Alex Watkins | 1 7th |
Entertaining. But it sucks. But it's entertaining. But it really sucks.
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3 | ![]() |
roujin | 10 1st |
LOL WE KILL PEOPLE AND WE R IRISH!
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3 | ![]() |
Jeb | 22 14th |
Very, very, very overrated. I found nothing enjoyable in this so called film.
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3 | ![]() |
TheDeek | 2 0th |
If you think irish people are above the law you might like this
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3 | ![]() |
overrated | 10 4th |
The only reason this doesn't get a zero is because of Dafoe (one of my favorite actors chewing the absolute shit out of the scenery). Despite ripping off Scorsese and Tarantino, the only thing Duffy comes close to in entertainment (besides Dafoe) is an exploding cat and lots of tedious slo-mo. What's even worse is at the end when he tries to present a "durr VIGILANTISM IS A MORAL DILEMMA durr" conclusion as if to reflect on the warped fascism that he just shat all over us with.
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3 | keysercomp16 | 100 50th |
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The witty McManus brothers could not be more perfect heroes in this riveting tale. If there's anything an audience loves, it's people outside of law enforcement that take the law into their own hand. These brothers not only enforce the laws of man but also the laws of God. It is incredible to watch as the media proclaimed saints hunt down every criminal and scum bag in the city of Boston. This action pact movie uses wit, religion, and brotherhood to make a great story line and a superb film.
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3 | ![]() |
Paxton | 77 82nd |
I thought it was great. But I like things that have the confidence to think they're cooler than they are. That's why I like Bret Michaels, Dave Navarro and Glenn Hetrick. I just don't like it when something thinks it's cooler than it is, but actually is that cool. That's why I hate Tom Brady.
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3 | ![]() |
moonsmilk | 1 1st |
This is what a 13-year-old thinks a good movie is, only with an actual budget.
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2 | whomperize | 25 15th |
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How this movie has so many fans, I will never guess. The action isn't even that great, and it's just a horrendously written movie.
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doctor7 | 68 49th |
I guess I don't really fit in with any of the crowds on this movie. I don't find it to be completely awful, as I find a lot of the movie to be humourous, but I also don't find it Earth-shatteringly good either. It's a decent enough movie but certainly nothing that will blow your socks off unless you're a massive fan of ridiculous violence, over-the-top characters and absurdity. Personally I find that can take a movie only so far.
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jimmynmu | 30 17th |
Shitty music, shitty plot, does not develop any sense of style that is it's own, rarely funny, at times way too serious and in the end it's just a tacky mess.
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AgentSnipe | 92 98th |
Definite points for originality for a movie that is thought-provoking and wall-to-wall cool. Hasn't aged terribly well, but definitely an early aughts cult classic.
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fabfunk | 0 0th |
Unredeemingly awful at every level. Poorly made, shot, edited, written, with mostly interchangable performances by the lead. Homophobic, racist and just plain stupid- there is NOTHING worth reccommending here.
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Sockman | 18 9th |
Copies the snappy dialogue and ultraviolence typical of Quentin Tarantino films. It's not a bad movie on its own, I guess, but if I can get the real thing, why settle for this imitation?
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2 | ![]() |
BattleToad | 90 89th |
Boondocks Saints has some fairly crappy acting by all but the main characters. Flanery, Reedus, and Dafoe are all pretty good though, and oh man is this movie awesome. It's totally original and knock-your-socks-off cool. It's got some of movielands most memorable scenes, and it's hard to get sick of it no matter how many times you see it. Awesome!
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2 | Skenkere | 66 50th |
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Way overrated, but still a fun movie
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MJVmovieMan | 68 41st |
A movie that has grown in popularity over the years, but seems like a low-rent version of an even better movie to be spawned from its initial premise.
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saucyjack | 32 10th |
Tarantino-esque piece of trash. Severely overrated in many circles, hailing it to be the next great action film. Merely a melange of Tarantino, Death Wish, and Catholicism, and a poor one at that.
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2 | loserville | 29 15th |
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Holy overrated Batman!
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willxcore | 89 88th |
Apparently you are a film critic extraordinaire if you think this movie sucks, and you're a naive gen-x loser if you like it. Many people claim it tries too hard to be a Tarantino rip-off movie. I think it holds up perfectly fine on its own. It's fun, the characters are very cool and likable and Willem Dafoe in drag are all you need for this awesome movie.
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2 | ![]() |
Optimus_mike | 15 8th |
I hate my generation for actually liking this movie.
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janus | 15 1st |
Rewatched September 2017. Admittedly, this has that indie energy of a young auteur working outside the system, though it occasionally dips into outright incompetency, especially in editing, sound, and music. It's cool now to hate this movie but apart from a few scenes I can't take it seriously enough to really feel self-righteously angry about. I've watched this with rooms full of people who've enjoyed it, but mostly just giggled and rolled their eyes, which seems like a healthy reaction.
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2 | RottenTomato | 19 5th |
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A juvenile, ugly movie that represents the worst tendencies of directors channeling Tarantino.
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omgfridge | 1 8th |
There is nothing to rave about at all. I see this in lots of people's favorite film lists and I just don't get why. Dafoe even let me down, his overacting was horrendous.
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jmarkthespot | 0 0th |
It's quite easy to imagine that kids who listen to Nickelback and have a wardrobe full of Tapout attire love this film.
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Nroo | 10 1st |
Fascist shit.
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1 | Spitfire | 80 85th |
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A little known sleeper. Most people I've talked to have never heard of this little gem.
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TripleSH | 94 97th |
A fantastic little action/drama. Being Irish myself, I can't help but love this movie. To top it all off, Willem Dafoe is great in this one...and Ron Jeremy isn't bad either.
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Magb | 30 6th |
Sound and fury.
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eveelun | 62 25th |
Stylish, and Dafoe is excellent as a scene-chewing, homophobic gay man. Otherwise, pretty hollow.
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1 | DTI | 61 9th |
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One or two interesting action scenes with a lot of filler.
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Dorkovsky | 2 11th |
Ugh, why?
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Kavu | 80 70th |
Sure, it's a bit tacky at places and lacks coherence, but it's damn stylish and the main trio acts very well.
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grimsooth | 93 97th |
A movie for anyone who doesn't like bad people, or the fact that they get to keep on being vile and no one seems to be doing anything about it. It's also partially a satyr of action films, as one. Willem Dafoe's performance is amazing.
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GravyMaximus | 60 47th |
If you still like this movie and you've been a true fan/student of film for more than a couple years then you're doing it wrong. The only reason I'm giving it a higher score than it really deserves is because of the cat scene.
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Jebby | 15 2nd |
A film that everyone likes just because everyone else likes it. It has very few redeeming qualities to it. The plot is paper thin. At least other movies in this particular vigilantism genre such as Death Wish give the main character a real reason to fight crime on their own. The characters in this film have no real purpose, everything just happens by accident and all of a sudden the characters become two of the biggest bad asses in their neighborhood because of their ineptitude.
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1 | hansmoleman | 80 62nd |
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Undeserving of both the original wave of praise and the backlash of hatred that followed.
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1 | CranialBoner | 30 5th |
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Totally generic and devoid of anything worthwhile other than Dafoe's acting. I get the point of the movie, I just think it's really stupid and overdone to the point that it makes me vomit.
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Nathan S | 1 6th |
Shit.
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martryn | 75 65th |
Not nearly as good now that I've seen the sequel.
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Huychu | 20 3rd |
One of the most colossally overrated movies of all time. It seems like people go through a phase (college) where they love this and other shitty films. This is a cult classic in that I hope whoever loves this when they're of legal drinking age straps on the Nikes and downs some cyanide-laced pudding.
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Geopoop | 88 97th |
I liked this one, as far as vigilante movies go this one is interesting, flashy and has some funny moments.
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JMBosch | 78 60th |
Purely indulgent, but enticing and fun.
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nandorizzi | 85 88th |
Willem Dafoe absurdly fantastic. Is a those films that you have never heard talk about, and that after watch, dont understanding the reason, because is very good.
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1 | Manhatta | 8 2nd |
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Some of the worst editing I've ever seen. Ignoring the cult fanbase, it still makes for an annoying movie that could have been saved by someone who knew what they were doing.
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Wiche | 90 95th |
Great action with an enormous load of humour, mixed with a great pacing, some fine directing and these great actors, we get this exciting movie. This is a must see, also because the film tells the story of two people who do things most people have already thougt about before, maybe even wished to do. Heroes of these days!
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1 | joyp | 82 5th |
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not as thrilled as the rest of the world on this one.
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1 | chrisaugust | 35 7th |
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Why do so many hipsters like tis? It's just a painfully see-through revenge story that's been told better a hundred times. Thank God Willem DaFoe gave it its only highlight.
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sophie | 65 47th |
It's been quite a while since I saw this , I remember it being somewhat entertaining, very violent and I don't feel any urge to watch it again
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purgatos | 1 0th |
This may be the only movie I have ever watched that I found to be legitimately offensive. At least it accomplished something.
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Luna6ix | 87 93rd |
Upon rewatching, "The Boondocks Saints" is a little dated, but my score still stands, it's a hell of a fun movie. The kind of killing movie that everyone can want to join in on.
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iceblox | 70 61st |
Agreed that this movie is way overrated. I mean heck, I've seen guys with crew cuts wearing 'The Boondock Saints' t-shirts! But that said, this movie is a bit fun to watch, even considering how ridiculous it is. Willem Dafoe was golden as the gay FBI agent, I've never seen him better than this.
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sork | 39 27th |
The Irish actors are nice to watch. The premise is good. The plot and directing are below mediocre and who wants to see a gay Willem Dafoe? This film could've been so much more, but is ultimately a let down.
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Vandelay1 | 84 94th |
nice movie
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1 | f201 | 30 6th |
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Literally deifies vigilantism. The action was alright, and Willem Dafoe was great, but I can't stomach the message. Crap.
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NathanDarko | 95 93rd |
Veritas | Aequitas!
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chemical404 | 15 2nd |
Excessive violence and use of gimmicks AIN'T cruise control for cool. This film is overdone on every level. Now I like Tarantino even more.
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1 | btyler | 96 78th |
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Finally saw this movie for the first time a few weeks ago, and have seen it three or four times since then. This movie was amazing, and is definitely one of my favorites. Great movie, great acting, great action, just amazing.
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ABUNCHOFCATS | 20 4th |
Bored me to tears.
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1 | a_doomoot3 | 0 1st |
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I don't need another inept teenager giving me a passionate, furiously inspired 20-minute whine session/lecture on why 'The Boondock Saints' is the greatest thing ever made and that I have no taste in art whatsoever and I have absolutely no idea what I am talking about.
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ZombieWoods | 60 35th |
This movie is overated.
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chemtrails | 10 2nd |
There was a time when saying this movie was nazi bullshit was going against general opinion or maybe my childhood friends were just fucking idiots
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kgbelliveau | 99 98th |
An oddly interesting film about two religious brothers who take revenge against the mob into their own hands. Awesome
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Obidy | 2 2nd |
This movie doesn't deserve to be a cult classic. It's stupid, fascistic gun porn, but then again I expected that. What amazed me most about Boondock Saints was how boring it is. Too much of the movie is just people standing around shooting guns at each other without making us care at all. My biggest disappointment was Willem Dafoe, whose cop isn't the worst character in this movie only because Rocco is in it. It's a shitty Tarantino ripoff without any understanding of Tarantino's charm. Skip it.
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hsncrspywl | 2 0th |
Let's get this out of the way: this is racist, misogynist, homophobic, facist trash. It takes a few interesting ideas and places them in the hands of Troy Duffy, who couldn't direct parade traffic (nor can he create interesting dialogue, coherent action, or make good use of score, mise-en-scene, or fucking anything) and absolutely wastes Willem Dafoe and Billy Connolly, who get a lot of scenery chewed in limited screentime. This escapes a 0 rank due to its few good ideas - ruined in execution.
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fra paolo | 15 6th |
Um. I understand this has a cult following, but it's bad. Everything consistently hits the wrong note.
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BJHudson | 30 11th |
sexy and gay.
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hiromiyamoto | 79 32nd |
Often called the Pulp Fiction of the 2000s, but that's not entirely true, as that position is filled by Pulp Fiction. As much fun as The Boondock Saints is, and as much as I love every single cast member in this movie, it's not as good as Pulp Fiction, nor will it ever be.
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1 | Zangin | 53 25th |
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This film is a masterpiece as long as you never bother to think about any scene for more than the time it's on the screen. Because if you do stop to look under the hood, you'll realize how morally bankrupt and devoid of intellectual merit the film actually is. It is stylish as fuck though, and Dafoe brings one hell of a colorful performance.
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1 | Pickle_Man | 40 9th |
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I usually love the sort of tasteless, hyperviolent, assault-on-the-senses movie Boondock promised to be - think Domino or Bad Boys II. Instead I got laughably wannabe Tarantino. Being dumb is forgiveable, but Boondock is for the most part as stylistically bankrupt as it is stupid, and compounds the sin by being super edgy in the worst way and thinking that makes it smart and funny. The violence is decent and Dafoe is fantastic but as a whole, it misses the mark. Soundtrack is fucking hideous.
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Displaying 1 to 250 of 307 total ratings: Prev | Next
Average Percentile 53.55% from 7910 Ratings | ![]() |