It’s been 10 years since the MacManus brothers shot up a bunch of mobsters and earned their place as likable characters in a cult classic. The Boondock Saints was a strange, hip film that mixed religion and faith with Death Wish. It was often presented in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, but ended with a serious question asking the viewers ask to themselves “Was this right?” It was the type of movie that could work only once and just happened to slowly, but surely find its audience.

Conner and Murphy have spent the past decade living in isolation in Ireland with their father, Il Duce. They haven’t showered or shaved a day since their departure from Boston and have been living a quite life, pretending to be Grizzly Adams and tending to sheep until an American priest is murdered. The boys are then inspired to finally invest into Gillette and come out of retirement.

Along the way, they meet a new friend, Romeo, played by Star Trek’s Clifton Collins Jr., who tags along in their plans to exact revenge on Judd Nelson’s crime boss. Romeo, of course, is the filmmaker’s attempt to to replace the first film’s ill fated comic relief, Rocco, who later makes a brief appearance in a dream sequence.

At the heart of the absurdity is their father’s backstory, which is perhaps the highlight of this mediocre sequel. While it really should have been told in its entirety at the start of the film, these sections are quite possibly one of the few things this film does right. We already know the brothers from the first film, and now we finally get to see what makes their father tick. It’s a shame that this backstory gets lost in the convoluted mess that the film is and that it truly doesn’t play a big part until the final act.

All Saints Day’s biggest flaw is that it’s often far too goofy to take seriously. Almost all of the characters in this film are so insane that you are incapable of believing they’re competent enough to even for work for the local Burger King, much less thrive in the situation in which they are placed. Even one of the most serious deaths in the film is treated as a traditional joke with a poorly thought out punchline: a man walks into a bar and gets shot!

If you’re a die hard fan of the first film, perhaps you will like this film and overlook its goofball quality for its stylistic action and storyline. Personally, I find it to be an over the top, mediocre retread of a much better film.

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