On October 27th, Campus Events Commission not only brought to UCLA’s Ackerman Grand Ballroom a sneak-peak of the Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, but also a Q&A panel afterwards featuring the writer and director Troy Duffy and actors Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus and Clifton Collins, Jr.

When Duffy wrote and directed the first Boondock Saints movie, he experienced little praise and even less success. In 1999, he paid with his own money for the film to debut in just five theaters. It was shown for only one week and received poor reviews. Now, ten years later, Troy Duffy and the Saints are back with a vengeance… at UCLA.

Since its release, the Boondock Saints has acquired cult-film status and a massive band of loyal followers. Set in Boston, fraternal twin brothers Connor and Murphey MacManus (Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus) found themselves “shepherds” of God, carrying out his command to rid the world of evil doers. The vigilantes wreaked havoc upon the mafia world. The film ended with the MacManus brothers, alongside their father Il Duce (Billy Conolly), shaking up the Yakavetta family by publicly executing their mafia don in a courtroom.

For ten years, we waited to see what became of the Saints after that courtroom scene. Turns out they had been hiding out the whole time in the emerald hills of Ireland–and let me tell you, it’s great to finally find them.

After a priest is murdered in a church, the brothers come back to Boston to avenge the death. The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day not only brings back much of its original cast, but also introduces new characters–among them the bodacious Southern bell FBI Special Agent Bloomey (Julie Benz) and the new Saints’ sidekick (Colin Clifton, Jr.).

Most people are aware that very few movie sequels meet or surpass the standards set by the original film. The Boondock Saints, sadly, is no exception (but boy was I glad to see the Saints back on film… with a full-backal nudity shower scene and badass guns). The first movie set a precedent that simply could not be met, even by the man himself, Troy Duffy. And while having much of the original cast for the sequel brought back the fond memories of yestermovie, it failed to deliver the awe-inspiring factor and heart-pounding thrills of Connor (Flannery) jumping off a roof with his hands cuffed around a toilet and landing on a Russian gangster’s back. However, this is not to say the movie is a flop–it does deliver many more laughs this time around, and its ending will practically knock your (Boston Red) socks off.

With a somewhat lighter tone, a little more comedy and a little Southern charm, the Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day will not exactly disappoint. It quenches the thirst to see the brothers back in action and justice being divied up for Boston’s most elite criminals. But the best part was not part of the film, but the presence of Troy Duffy, Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus and Clifton Colins, Jr. standing before some lucky 350 students’ eyes, answering questions and greeting and signing autographs.

As a die hard fan, I sadly give the sequel 3.5 stars–yes it was pretty good but not Boondock-Saints-fantastic, no don’t walk in to the theater with high expectations, but yes, go see it! At the least it is entertaining the whole way through, with some outrageous moments of comedy and you get to see the MacManus brothers back in action.