10 Critically Abused Films That We All Loved Anyway (And Why)

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 20%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 91%

Troy Duffy’s ultra-violent Boston crime flick The Boondock Saints follows Irish twin brothers Connor (Sean Patrick Flannery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) as they take both the law of the land and the word of the Lord into their own hands. 

Their massacre of local Mafia and vicious slaying of porno store customers leads not to their arrest, but to widespread approval, with newspaper the Boston Herald dubbing them saints.

What The Critics Said:

The Rotten Tomatoes Critic Consensus states that The Boondock Saints is a juvenile, ugly movie that represents the worst tendencies of directors attempting to channel Quentin Tarantino. 

Variety accused director Troy Duffy of being more interested in finding fresh ways to stage execution scenes than in finding meaning behind the human urge for self-appointed righting of wrongs, and most other reviews agreed that the film was a simple case of style over substance.

Why We Loved It Anyway:

While some Rotten Tomatoes Audience Reviews did question the moral ambiguity on show, most were fine with, and even approved of the ultra-violence employed by director Troy Duffy, deeming it a necessary accompaniment to the subject matter. 

The film was also praised for providing difficult dilemmas for the viewer to mull over long after it had ended, and the cast – Willem Dafoe in particular – were lauded for their solid, compelling performances.