Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 238 Ratings

  • Starring: Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery, Willem Dafoe
  • Summary: Two Catholic vigilante killers from Boston (Flannery, Reedus) who believe they are doing God's work kill members of the Russian mob and customers of a porn shop, but instead of paying for their crimes, they are praised as "saints" by the local newspaper and by an odd FBI agent (Dafoe).
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. Reviewed by: Joan Anderman
    75
    (Duffy) navigates the twisted collision of religious faith and the thrill of the kill, altruism and brutality, with an ingenious mix of humor, horror, mysticism, and just plain hipness.
  2. Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    60
    More interested in finding fresh ways to stage execution scenes than in finding meaning behind the human urge for self-appointed righting of wrongs, (the film) is stuffed with effects that have no lasting impact.
  3. 50
    (Duffy's) assembled a fine cast -- it's hard to take your eyes off the two young leads -- but he's given them little to do but squeeze triggers and mouth platitudes.
  4. 30
    As written and directed by newcomer Troy Duffy, The Boondock Saints is all style and no substance, a film so gleeful in its endorsement of vigilante justice that it almost veers (or ascends) into self-parody.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 98 out of 133
  2. Negative: 31 out of 133
  1. First of all, I don't appreciate the implication that all people who give this movie a 10 rating are just overexcited kids. I am a 36 year old Marine Corps veteran who's life has been personally touched by crime, both violent and non-violent, and I can tell you many times, I have wanted nothing more than to do the kinds of things depicted in this movie. I don't because I still hope that some day the law may actually stand behind people's rights rather than standing behind the people who have the money. I loved this movie and think that it at minimum shows the moral standard that people SHOULD live by. Is violence wrong? Yes it is. Is violence sometimes necessary? I don't know, ask any police officer who has ever had to fire their weapon in the line of duty. Ask any soldier who has ever been to war. For those that can't see the plot behind this movie, I feel very sorry for you, and those around you, because my guess would be, you're moral compass probably doesn't point to the good side. Expand
  2. JohnB
    8
    Obviously this movie is not to be watched for its impressive morality. It's more likely that the story came from a "wouldn't it be cool if..." moment, but never the less it is entertaining and has a story line that keeps you interested. Sure, it doesn't involve any deep philosophical thinking, but actual religious teachings aren't any better. Sorry to all who were looking for a life-changing experience from this movie. Expand
  3. KatieS
    7
    I saw this movie with no background or context, and I liked it, but I think I took it in a different spirit than a lot of people did. I interpreted it as one big jokey comic, no serious attempt to make a movie about vigilantism or revenge, and taken in that spirit I found it entertainingly told, edited, and acted. But, yeah, if you try to take it as an effort at anything other than a puffed up comic book, it will seem unutterably stupid. Expand
  4. JonM
    3
    The fact that this movie is considered a cult-classic is not indicative of quality, but indicative of how easily impressed people are. The violence doesn't bother me nearly as much as the quasi-spiritual leanings of the protagonists, which are completely laughable. "God has told me to kill you" may sound cool to a 12 year old, but anyone above that age should know better. Avoid this P.O.S. at all costs. Expand

See all 133 User Reviews