Cult Movie Status
As with many cult movies. "The Boondock Saints" was not a success upon general release in theatres. Its audience discovered it on video release. Cult movies have shifting tones. It is this tonal shift that often puzzles film reviewers. In some ways this movie is difficult to categorize as it can fit into a variety of movie categories: it is an ultra violent variation of the classic Hollywood vigilante movies, it is a "buddy" action movie, it has dark humour, attempts to satirise the culture of celebrity, and even attempts to consider the justification of violence as a response to evil. Its use of religious symbols, especially those connected to the Roman Catholic Faith, sets it apart from other films about vigilantism.