The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

October 31, 2010 - The murder of a priest brings the MacManus brothers out of retirement in this 2009 sequel to 1999's The Boondock Saints. The cast includes Billy Connolly, Judd Nelson, Peter Fonda and Julie Benz as a sympathetic FBI agent.

As the film opens, eight years have passed since Connor and Murphy MacManus won the hearts and minds of Bostonians by taking out a good number of the city's mobsters. Since then, they've been living peacefully with their dad (Connolly) – an accomplished killer in his own right – on a sheep farm in Ireland. But, when they get word that they're being framed for the murder of a priest in Boston, they hop the first freighter they can find and head back home.

On the freighter, they meet a Latino named Romeo. He becomes the brothers' partner in crime as they hunt down the people who tried to frame them. They also get help from a few police detectives and from an FBI agent named Eunice (Benz). All things considered, the bad guys don't stand a chance, especially once dad joins in the fun.

Overall review: ** Not quite as good as the original, but not bad as sequels go. This movie has better pacing and more humor, but lacks the feeling of righteous indignation that powered the first film. Julie Benz, who had a tendency to be annoying in her role as Rita on Dexter, does well here. And, the ending sets things up for another sequel (or a prequel) should writer/director Troy Duffy choose to make one.