I wouldn't be a bit suprised if "The Boondock Saints" had been based on a comic strip. It's made with the same tongue-in-cheek / morality tale method that befits "Spiderman" and "X-Men." The result is something similar to these movies; an exciting, technically proficient popcorn movie. It's a pulp movie, the kind you throw away a few bucks on when you want to watch a movie without having to think too much, but you don't want your intelligence to be insulted either. What's interesting about this film is that so many people insist that it's something more. I admit that it is starkly original in it's characters. The closest relatives to the brothers i can think of are ben affleck and matt damon in dogma, which is a stretch. But this is still essentially a super hero movie. The acting is over the top, the direction is frenetic, violence is common, and the inherently mysterious qualities of the characters allow for any kind of plot twists the director wants. This is a good film by a young, excited filmmaker, but is far from a thoughtful and important reflection on vigilantism and religious fervor. It's little more than a cool action movie, but it's still a very cool action movie. Enjoy, but enjoy for what it is, and then go watch "Taxi Driver" or Godard's "Breathless" if you want to take a film seriously.
By the way, I haven't read all of the reviews of this film on imdb.com, since there are over 200, but none of the one's i've read mentioned this film being withheld after the Columbine massacre. I normally don't spport anything resembling censorship, but not releasing this film was an extremely tactful move by the studio. Releasing it would have been more tasteless than Charlton Heston's NRA rally in Denver. It was as untimely as a film could possibly be and the studio made a good decision. It also was probably best the best thing for the film, since it probably would've been dismissed a lot more quickly with a traditional release and not have developed the cult following it enjoys. All the same, I'm looking forward to seeing what the Saints will be up to in the sequel.
By the way, I haven't read all of the reviews of this film on imdb.com, since there are over 200, but none of the one's i've read mentioned this film being withheld after the Columbine massacre. I normally don't spport anything resembling censorship, but not releasing this film was an extremely tactful move by the studio. Releasing it would have been more tasteless than Charlton Heston's NRA rally in Denver. It was as untimely as a film could possibly be and the studio made a good decision. It also was probably best the best thing for the film, since it probably would've been dismissed a lot more quickly with a traditional release and not have developed the cult following it enjoys. All the same, I'm looking forward to seeing what the Saints will be up to in the sequel.