Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day was created with the same flavor and enthusiasm of the first film. Director Troy Duffy even paced the film similarly, with a slow, funny, folky beginning leading up to an epic climax of violence, destruction and revelation.
Some Boondock Saints fans expressed concern over the character Special Agent Eunice Bloom, portrayed by actress Julie Benz. Bloom steps in as an FBI representative and has a style reminiscent of Smecker (Willem Dafoe) from the previous film--meticulous, acute and quirky.
Bloom is not, however, a Smecker replacement stuck in just to hold up the plot. She's confident and seems to be without complications. In her middle age, this woman doesn't have to act as though she has something to prove among the men, though her manner of dress and walking allow no one to forget that she is certainly female.
While Bloom's sensuality and feminine strengths are more than implied in the film, she does not waste her time on the sexual wonderment she causes among the men; this lack of reactive space allows her to function as a very strong character.
Female Boondock Saints fans may also enjoy the MacManus brothers' individual shower scenes. The men cleanse themselves (likely part of their spiritual ritual) as they prepare to confront a copycat Saints-style killer who murders a Catholic priest in Boston. The tastefully-done shower scenes convey the meaning of the message while offering the audience at the glimpse of significant tattoos and the excellence of the male form.
While the film actively confronts frustration with gender roles (male characters discuss this in connection to the accessibility of violence in our culture), their anger and frustrations are never taken out or blamed on women.