Mix violence, coarse language and a simple, fun but darkly humorous plotline, and you've got a great movie. This formula, despite its rarity in theaters, worked for the original Boondock Saints, a movie that I, along with many others, loved. Ten years later, the newly released sequel attempts to recreate the feeling of the original but doesn't have the same success as the first. Sequels rarely outshine their predecessors, but it seems in all the time between the two, Troy Duffy (the writer and director of both films) has lost confidence-something that resonates clearly on the screen.The simple concept behind Boondock Saints is what made the first movie so interesting. The film followed two religious Irish Catholic men, Connor and Murphy McManus (played by Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus) and their father Il Duce/Poppa M (Billy Connolly) as they "clean up" Boston's most infamous criminals. The film ended with a bang and the Saints' disappearance after they made a very public courtroom appearance.

The second film follows the Saints eight years after the end of the original movie. They are back in Ireland, laying low from the Boston scene they were previously so much a part of. When they find out a priest has been killed and the assassin has used their signature of placing pennies over the victim's eyes, they come out of retirement to murder their way back to finding out who killed the innocent holy man-they don't consider themselves "Saints" for nothing. Their path reunites them with many old friends from the original film, though the sequel is plagued by the fact that the original came out 10 years prior and seeing these recognizable faces without the original context ruins the 'aha!' moment a clever cameo should bring (specifically a very surprising cameo at the very end). As is said during one of these random cameos, "Peace is the enemy of memory," and the long peace between the movies made the film not as memorable. Wine and movies just don't age the same way.

Where the film runs into most trouble is in Troy Duffy's script and direction. He appears to never be really sure if he is making a sequel or a stand-alone film with the same set of characters. At some points he appears to be trying to fit in parts of the previous film to the point where certain scenes feel altogether useless. He also seems to be playing around with his filmmaking style for the first half of the film, putting in the same scene multiple times-once at regular speed and once in slow motion right after. The story is very confusing, taking the simple concept from the original that worked so well and throwing in more F words, more characters, multiple storylines and attempted humor instead of letting the lines flow and the dark humor fill itself in. One example of this is the addition of a sidekick, a Mexican man named Romeo (Clifton Collins Jr.). He is supposed to serve as a comedic foil to the Saints, and although he has his lines, the character really struggles to come into his place in the film. The actors themselves are not at fault, as all the lines are delivered with the same great feel as in the first, but I feel that the final product didn't portray these performances to the extent it could have.

The ending did come together and explain everything (such as a seemingly random aside about the father's backstory that ends up becoming an important plot point). The final scene, as in the first movie, left more to be desired but also a clear opportunity to create yet another film. Who knows: Maybe this film will be the last, or one day 10 years from now The Boondock Saints 3 might be hitting theaters near you. Let's just hope that after beginner's luck faded the second time around, the third time will be the charm.