“Happy Fourth everybody! Although, the movie we have here is what I try to watch every St Paddy’s Day. So I guess my list got its holidays mixed up a bit.
Besides being one of my fave action movies, this is prolly my favorite Boston movie. That’s partly because it was one of the first I saw, before the recent wave of them. Not that Im complaining about the Boston movie revolution. I’ve been \m/ eating it up. I’d been up here about a month when I first saw Saints. It was kinda a rite of passage on my hall. Anyone who hadn’t seen it was sat down in the lounge, people piled in, and we all watched it together. I may not have recognized many landmarks on the first view, but on subsequent watches I knew more and more.
I had a Saints jacket that I wore pretty much every day for two years until the zipper broke. Next time you see me, say something about rope. See how I respond.
Willem Dafoe gives the performance of his career as Agent Smecker. Insane but smart. Though for me, its all about the saints themselves: Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus. If those are the badass characters that represent my city, I am one happy Bostonian. (I said characters, not actors. If we’re talking actors then I wouldnt be able to pick between Wahlberg, Damon, or Afflect…okay Wahlberg or Damon). There’s something about the way they deliver the prayer that I just love. So calm and cool, compared to their toughness during the fights, compared to their fun spirits and brotherly love. Actually yeah I think the most compelling scenes in the movie are where you have the brothers taking care of each other post battle.
I love the way that the action sequences are played out. We see the lead in, then we cut to the investigation where the cops piece it together, then we see what actually happened. The fights are gritty and dirty, which is just how I like them. It’s not over the top crossing too far into unbelievable. They did toe the line a bit in the sequel, but I think for the most part I prefer to forget that a sequel exists. I was happy to see it because it had been in the works for so long, but then it was rather unsatisfying.
I just made it about 2/3 of the way thru the DVD before remembering that I had it on BluRay too. I usually dont think the upgrade is worth it, but ohmygod this one looks so much prettier and clearer. Yes, the raw feel was part of its charm, but you dont want charm for an action flick. You want picture. The blood is so much brighter and redder. Okay, I realize that’s not a selling point for some of you, but it is for me.”