The Guard

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The Guard

R

2011

1h 35m

Comedy

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

135 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A vulgar Irish cop (Brendan Gleeson) and a straight-laced American FBI agent (Don Cheadle) uncover police corruption among the former's superiors while probing a drug-trafficking ring.

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Critics Consensus

A violent, crackerjack comedy with a strong Irish flavor and an eminently likable Brendan Gleeson in the main role.

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Jim Schembri

The Age (Australia)

10/18/2011

3.5/5

The Guard offers an offbeat take on a genre without skimping on the violence or gunplay.

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

08/26/2011

3/4

Although The Guard is primarily a language romp, it's also a terrific showcase for veteran pug-faced character actor Brendan Gleeson.

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

08/26/2011

3/4

Brendan Gleeson is a blooming marvel.

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Mark Seneviratne

Vague Visages

03/26/2024

There is no analytical framework to guide audiences towards a hollow understanding of raw talent. Gleeson's charisma is built-in, like all legendary performers, and this is most evident when his characters behave despicably.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/01/2023

3.5/4

Gleeson has rarely been better or been given such a showcase for his talent.

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Tom Cassidy

Common Sense Media

10/28/2021

3/5

Flipping the street cop and well-to-do dynamic of 'Beverly Hills Cop' on its head, Cheadle's uptight Yale graduate is suitably stuffy when plonked in the Irish countryside.

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bob c

@RT46426964 Jan 6

Black Irish humour at its very best. Gleeson great, Cheadle and Strong memorable. Many spinoffs mostly not good.

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Christian C

@RT19561793 Aug 27

One of the best comedies I’ve seen. I liked ‘In Bruges’ a lot, but this might’ve been about as good.

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Maura D

@MauraDC Jun 8

It gets better and funnier each time I watch this film. Understated and clever, oh, and hilarious at times.

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Troy R

@Grim16 Jun 3

Good acting, very funny at times, story was very interesting. Definitely would say its a very British/Irish film. At first its tough to understand what they are saying and some of the jokes are likely missed because of it, but watchable if you know a little British slang. Don Cheadle was not as involved as I thought he would be, but when he was there the English accent was a breathe of fresh air and his character accounted for a good amount of the humor.

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Will G

@Wgoodeve Mar 17

Brendan Gleeson from “Banshees of Inisherin” was great! Don Cheadle from the MCU was good too. The movie was about cops in Ireland taking down criminals. This was a nice comedy and I enjoyed the scenes of Ireland.

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Johannes S

@RT64416087 01/19/2025

Short, funny, and interesting throughout. A very enjoyable movie.

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John Michael McDonagh

Director

Brendan Gleeson

Sergeant Gerry Boyle

Don Cheadle

FBI agent Wendell Everett

Liam Cunningham

Francis Sheehy

David Wilmot

Liam O'Leary

Rory Keenan

Garda Aidan McBride

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Synopsis

A vulgar Irish cop (Brendan Gleeson) and a straight-laced American FBI agent (Don Cheadle) uncover police corruption among the former's superiors while probing a drug-trafficking ring.

Director: John Michael McDonagh
Producer: Chris Clark, Flora Fernandez-Marengo, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe
Screenwriter: John Michael McDonagh
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Element Films, Reprisal Films, UK Film Council
Rating: R (Pervasive Language|Drug Material|Sexual Content|Some Violence)
Genre: Comedy, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 29, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 25, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.4M
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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