Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release date: March 9th, 2010
MSRP: DVD: $27.96, Blu-ray: $34.95

Stars: Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Billy Connolly, Clifton Collins Jr., Julie Benz, Peter Fonda, Judd Nelson

The brothers are back. For some, this is something to rejoice, while others will likely cringe and rolle their eyes. The original Boondock Saints delighted some and repulsed others. Loaded up gratuitous violence, racism and homophobia, it was a polarizing film.

This film starts out with the brothers now living in Ireland with their father. A decade has passed since the first film and Connor and Murphy have been content to live a quiet life, keeping a low profile. But that changes when an assassin frames the boys for the murder of a priest. The idea is to draw the boys out, which of course it does. You know what they say, becareful of what you wish for.

The brothers load up and head to Boston with plans to track down the assassin and lay waste to the criminals of Boston. And that is where this film shines, the action scenes are great fun and make up for some damn painful dialogue. As in the first film, the humor is based heavily on homophobia and racism. And while it may be funny to some, it left me with a bit of a headache.

One other strong aspect of the film is Billy Connolly’s performance of I1 Duce, father of Connor and Murphy. While those two are laying waste to all that stands before them, he is reflecting on his past with a series of flashbacks. These work well and lead to a satisfying meeting between Connolly and Peter Fonda.

Visual:
Presented in 1080p with a ratio of 2.35:1, the video does an excellent job of presenting this film as a sort of crazy comic come to life. The details are outstanding, with everything really standing out (textures of wood, the details of the guns, Julie Benz). The colors are solid, as are the blacks.

Audio:
DTS-HD 5.1 is used here and between the music and the bullets, it gets a workout. Not being a fan of techno, the soundtrack got on my nerves at times, but that is hardly the fault of the audio tracks. I will say that there are moments were the music seems to overwhelm the rest, but it happens only a few times.
In addition to English, there are tracks for Frecnh, Spanish and Portuguese. Subtitles are offered for English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Extras:
We get two commentary tracks. One with writer/director writer/director Troy Duffy, and stars Norman Reedus, Billy Connolly, and Sean Patrick Flannery. It is clear right from the start that these guys enjoy each other’s company. I am sure it would have been a blast to have been in the room when they did this, but being at home, I felt like I was eavesdropping. It is full of jokes and banter, but little actual info about the film. If you are looking for insight in the production, skip this.
The second track features Troy Duffy by himself and is much more interesting. He talks about this film, and the original, and the cult status they have gained. Midway through this, Willem Dafoe joins in. Of the two, I thought this one was far better.

In addition to these tracks, there are five featurettes offering over an hour and a half of addition footage. These include a 57 minute segment on Comic-Con as well as the weapons used and general camaraderie of the set.

Fans of the original will likely be in heaven here and those that did not like it will not be moved from that position. My own feeling is that BS II is a trashy, somewhat entertaining flick of violence, manly chest-pounding and ass-kicking. This is by no means a great film, despite some of the comments from the cast and crew. Some of this, Tarantino does a lot better, and smarter. But if you are in the right mood, you can have fun.

Jeremy Lynch