practiced_bravado

After reading so much about this cult classic, I was rather underwhelmed after watching the pic for the first time. I bought the Unrated Special Ed and viewed it last night. During my screening, I quickly thought of Gary Fleder's "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead" which starred Andy Garcia, Chris Walken and Steve Buscemi. Both films are quirky, tongue-in-cheek gangster flicks and yet the former did not gain the cult following like Troy Duffy's violent, profane thriller did. I even found Guy Ritchie's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" to be a more enjoyable and accomplished film.

Yes, "Saints" does have style and a pulpy premise (twin brothers who want to rid the world of evil), but I was expecting a lot more in terms of execution. One of the disappointments for me came from the lack of watching the brothers go to work. Their murders are shown as flashbacks and I believe a wiser choice would've been to depict them in "real time". More suspense and visceral thrills would've been the result, at least I think.

In the end, I believe it lacks freshness. Not bad for a first time director, but Duffy is an ego-maniac that seriously killed his own career. So sadly, we won't see a second film from him that probably would've been even better. ** 1/2 stars out of ****.