It took a whole decade before the successor to The Boondock Saints, considered a cult movie by many, was released. This long interval was caused by licensing troubles and the ego of director Troy Duffy, whose behavior after his success reminded of a bull in a china shop and who was then shown his limits quite fast. Just as quick as the studio bosses opened the doors for the promising newcomer, they closed them for the arrogant prick he turned out to be. There even is a documentary about Duffy's life called Overnight, which shows the details of his career quite well. However, time is a great healer and eventually Sony made the second part of The Boondock Saints possible. Most people who liked the first one should like the successor, as well. Allusions and new ideas are well balanced and make it a really watchable film.

Again three years after the release of the Original Version (OV), Duffy kept the promise of a Director's Cut (DC) which he had given fans at the premiere. Duffy emphasized that it is not supposed to be a marketing trick but a different version that gives the movie more depth by including additional plot elements. After the first Assembly Cut, which was 195 minutes long, the Director's Cut was created, still running 20 minutes longer than the OV, which was released in a few cinemas in the US.

One thing should be clear from the start: if you did not like the first version of The Boondock Saints 2, you will not change your mind because of the Director's Cut. Duffy put a lot of effort into it and did not only insert new sequences where the room for them could be found but used scene extensions and alternate, longer takes (explaining the recurring instances of alternate footage, which always only incorporate different shot changes that do not need to have to be depicted here). There are many additional dialogues whose content varies from interesting to irrelevant. The sidekick Romeo gets a lot more screentime worrying about the saints not seeing him as a full partner, the saints and the good cops under Eunice's leadership can be seen more also. However, all of these are plot additions, only one scene adds some violence. All in all, it cannot be said that every single one of these aditional 20 minutes is necessary, especially because the long running time already was a reason for criticism with the OV.

The US Blu-ray, which was used for this comparison, was first released exclusively for the retail chain Best Buy and will not be available for purchase elsewhere for a few months, but will be eventually.

50 relevant differences, including
23 extended scenes
16 extended scenes including alternative footage
10 additional scenes
1 scene with alternative footage

The DC is 1221,97 sec. or approx. 20 min. 22 sec. longer than the OV.

0:01:01: More blackscreen.
7,76 sec.

Extended Scene
0:01:22: Insignificantly longer shots and recuts of the brothers sitting on the horses and smoking.
The DC runs 3,68 sec.

Additional Scene
0:01:44: The brothers end their workday at the campfire.
11,36 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:06:05: The OV shows the transition to Il Duce sitting silently in the room when the brothers come in. The DC shows the priest talking fervently t Il Duce, telling him to make the brothers give up their plans and that he would do it himself if necessary. He removes his collar and looks up when the brothers enter the room.
The DC runs 6,36 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:06:18: Another fast sequence of longer shots and recuts that should rather be seen as one. It is worth mentioning that Il Duce looks at the priest provocatively, referring to his previous statement. The priest stammers longer before asking what the brothers want to do (which can also be seen in the OV) and Connor takes longer to get the coins out of his jacket.
17,16 sec.

Additional Scene
0:08:36: The policemen trio is standing outside and talks about Eunice. We learn that she was an overachiever during her training and that Smecker personally chose her as protégé. This means that she knows everything about the Saints, which makes the trio nervous because they are afraid that the cooperation with her will be difficult.
58,84 sec.

Extended Scene
0:09:37: A colleague tells the brothers to go to the place where the fight will take place.
6,64 sec.

Additional Scene
0:12:04: Two workers are making a deal, seen by the Saints.
8,16 sec.

Extended Scene
0:13:05: The scene in which Eunice presents herself to the trio can be seen earlier in the OV and is longer in the DC. They try to be cool and tough at first and look at her accordingly.
6,88 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:13:12: The dialog scene between the trio and Eunice features several extensions. A short overview: Greenly talks about his past in a football team; Eunice suggests slowly raising the swearing bar instad of starting with the highest level and that the FBI is looking for the Saints because the public notion that they are doing the bureau's job and cannot get caught is not really in their interest. She then says that they should work together for Smecker's sake and afterwards asks why there are so many people. Eventually she wants to see the crime scene and asks Greenly to accompany her there. He even offers her some coffee.
The DC runs 80,96 sec. longer

Additional Scene
0:15:52: Romeo is walking between containers and gets encircled by the workers. He screams"Fire!" and the Saints come to aid. They unsuccessfully try to calm the attackers in their language and then beat them up. Romeo thanks them and they say hi to each other. Romeo is surprised when they tell him that "Fire!" is something one screams if one is in danger of being raped. He then goes to one of the guys lying on the ground, says something smart and kicks him.
78,48 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:17:47: Duffy says that the location and the victims do not fit the Saints' profile. Eunice agrees and says that the Saints certainly would not have done this in a church, and not to a priest.
The DC runs 13,48 sec. longer

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:19:02: Insignificant extension: Eunice adds that the killer is left-handed and Dolly repeats it in his list of the killer's attributes.
The DC runs 2,12 sec. longer

Additional Scene
0:20:33: Dolly wants Eunice to prove her left-handed theory and she does it by showing how the victim was turned over on the ground, which also convinces Duffy.
18,92 sec.

Additional Scene
0:22:05: Flashback to the exile. The Saints and Il Duce are standing at a campfire and he speaks a prayer while the brothers can be seen killing a wolf theatening a sheep herd and throwing him on the fire.
38,8 sec.

Extended Scene
0:24:10: Concezio asks everyone to remember that the Saints just walked around, killed everyone and left.
28,04 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:24:53: Concezio uses another expression to show how the Saints humiliated them. OV: "prison-fucked", DC: "donkeypunched".
The OV runs 1,28 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:27:53: Insignificant, Romeo says: "Spice it up a little."
1,6 sec.

Extended Scene
0:30:25: A black cat appears behind Romeo and he strokes it while Connor reacts nervously and curses.
11,84 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:30:41: The head of police is not convinced by Eunice's theory, but gives them the opportunity to do so in the DC. Duffy explains that revenge as a motive for framing the Saints is not possible, Dolly talks about the long time of 8 years without anything happening with Concezio's prison term and that the Yakavetta clan had to regain hegemony in Boston again first. Greenly mentions the amount of gang murders rising and their meaning. The chief is still not convinced, not even after Eunice says that Yakavetta will protect the killer until the Saints are dead. The OV is a lot shorter and features a few different shots but directly shows the chief saying that he could hold the media back for a while.
The DC runs 81,36 sec. longer

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:32:24: More extensions during the chief's speech. He says that the mayor is putting pressure on him as well and that keeping the city's peace was his highest priority.
The DC runs 50,16 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:36:05: Romeo asks Connor what he thinks of his car, Connor answers that only riding a moped could be more embarassing. The brothers then make fun of him and he is annoyed.
31,21 sec.

Additional Scene
0:40:02: The head of police is going to the depot with Eunice and tells her that the high ranking policemen said she had a problem with authorities. She answers that authorities usually have a problem with her and then makes a joke about her gender. The chief tells her to hurry up because he will not be able to keep his superiors content for long.
45,68 sec.

Extended Scene
0:45:31: The scene starts earlier in the DC. Greenly gives Eunice a file about Gorgeous George, who is now the street boss of the Yakavetta clan while the people higher up are hiding in their headquarters. Dolly explains that the nickname comes from George's dressing habits.
29,32 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:50:51: Could this have a censoring background? While the gangster screams at the old people that there is nothing to seen, he can be seen in a shot from further away, in which his people are still kicking the victim in the background. Afterwards, he uses his hammer a second time.
The DC runs 5,12 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:52:19: The gangster adds Huh? Donkey punch?", referring to Concezio's previous statement.
4,72 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:55:57: Eunice is walking through the beauty salon a bit longer and then the masseuse can be seen offering George a back waxing after seeing his hait there, to no avail.
The DC runs 24,8 sec. longer

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:57:17: Eunice is holding her gun to George's head in a dofferent shot. She then says that she is a lady and therefore expects some manners. Then there are some more alternative shots, making the DC a bit longer.
The DC runs 8,52 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:59:23: George complains about his superiors hiding at their HQ and having others risk their lives on the street.
10,92 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
0:59:45: Some insignificant extensions during the dialog between George and Jojo.
8,2 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
1:01:24: They first try to bully the young Il Duce, but it does not seem to work as he kills two of the gangsters instantly and shoots the other one in the head. The DC shows some more violence here, the guy can be seen rattling in two shots shortly after each other. The third cut to him can be seen in the OV as well although it is shorter there.
The DC runs 17,64 sec. longer

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
1:03:50: In the OV Romeo instantly receives the call of his uncle about George's location. In the DC the Saints first tell him that he is no comparison to David della Rocco. A black cat appears again, making Connor nervous. A pedestrian comes walking by and is being threatened by the brothers before they realize he is harmless. He recognizes them and seems to be a fan. Romeo gets the call from his uncle now (different shots) and the civilian asks the Saints whether he is their new sidekick. Romeo is not pleased about this.
The DC runs 78,48 sec. longer

Extended Scene
1:10:44: After the gangsters did not show him respect, Romeo says that he might just become Pancho Villa.
4,48 sec.

Extended Scene
1:11:19: The small killer is singing in the car: "Here I come...".
10,6 sec.

Extended Scene
1:11:35: Jojo adds that the tension in the bar can be felt in the air and that he also does not know why he is there.
11,08 sec.

Extended Scene
1:13:17: George talks some more, trying to convince the Saints that he has changed He mentions that he wants to help the poor people and begs them not to kill him.
10,96 sec.

Extended Scene
1:16:26: Eunice says that the big fish can be spotted as soon as the bodycount is getting too high and that the Saints have been verw naughty so far.
8,4 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
1:17:05: During the stand-off the DC shows more of Eunice's analysis, who explains that an argument between the gangsters was the reason for the violence.
The DC runs 60,68 sec. longer

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
1:26:31: The scene in the HQ, which is now a crime scene, features several alternative shots and extensions. It is important that the FBI agent aacts like an arrogant showmaster longer. He says that the generally loved FBI would take over and that the attending policemen should give all their clues to them so they could take the credit for it.He then talks badly about Eunice and her work with the police trio. Eunice stays cool and tells him that he should try and reconstruct what happened. Of course he fails and is being corrected by Eunice, Greenly and Co. Then Eunice offers her version and the two versions are in synchronicity again.
The DC runs 125,52 sec. longer

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
1:30:22: Romeo is nervous in both versions, but the dialog is longer in the DC. Connor calms him down and says that he stayed calm with his uncle as well. When Murphy gets angry Romeo says that they are not the only ones without health insurance and that he is the one who has to absorb everything. Now Connor gets angry as well because this is not the time for discussions. He adds that Romeo should not turn into a statue but point his "gay" guns at the bad guys and at least pretend to want to look cool. Murph asks whether Romeo is not keen on doing it, which he assures.
The DC runs 34,24 sec. longer

Additional Scene
1:32:51: Eunice goes up to the roof of hte building complex in order to show the others how the Saints entered the building.
15,84 sec.

Extended Scene Including Alternative Footage
1:33:30: Als die Saints auf dem Fensterputzlift in Streit geraten, erblickt Murphy im DC noch die schwarze Katze in einem Apartment. Connor erschrickt erneut und will sie erschießen, doch Murphy hält ihn davon ab. Connor fragt, was Murphy denn glaube, was passieren würde und der sagt, dass er keine Ahnung hat, es aber auch nicht herausfinden will.
The DC runs 20,16 sec. longer

Extended Scene
1:36:04: The groundkeeper gives up and does not have any more comments to make.
4,8 sec.

Extended Scene
1:40:02: The gangster adds that he did not want hurt Eunice and that he has important information.
8,92 sec.

Extended Scene
1:47:21: Some more dialog during the dream sequence with Rocco.
6,08 sec.

Extended Scene
1:49:11: The young Il Duce is asked longer to stop the killing, but the DC only features longer shots and nothing new.
The DC runs 25,08 sec. longer

Additional Scene
1:53:05: Agent Kuntsler tells a colleague that he should bring in a forensics expert because something seems to be wrong with Bloom.
39,16 sec.

Additional Scene
1:55:06: There is an unnecessarily long shot of Agent Kuntsler eating his piece of cake and thinking.
19,24 sec.

Extended Scene
1:55:38: The shot of the room Kuntsler just left continues until the rotating plate comes to a halt.
5,48 sec.

Extended Scene
1:55:57: The mobster looks up.
2,8 sec.

Extended Scene
2:08:27: The camera pans in front of Murphy's feet.
12,52 sec.