The Guard

2011 "The FBI are about to discover that things work a little differently around here."
7.3| 1h36m| R| en| More Info
Released: 29 July 2011 Released
Producted By: UK Film Council
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.sonyclassics.com/theguard
Synopsis

When a small-town Irish cop with a crass personality is partnered with a straight-laced FBI agent to bust an international drug-trafficking ring, they must settle their differences in order to take down a dangerous gang.

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Reviews

Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.
Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.
Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
Reno Rangan I won't say it is an overrated film, but it simply did not work for me. The same director who had made 'Calvary' directed this one as well with Brendon Gleeson in the lead, but that was an earlier project to this one. I loved that film, not this one, though I consider it an average, because I did not find it bad. The theme was very familiar, and too much wasted scenes with the slow narration spoiled my mood. There's no clear perspective of the storytelling, just it concentrated on a small town cop and his single life, and rarely he fights the crime.When an FBI agent comes looking for some international drug dealers, a cop in a small Irish town braced to assist the American officer. Though he never cared to involve in it. He follows his usual lifestyle, enjoying every moment of his life. After a woman comes asking to find his cop husband gone missing, he now gets into the action. How serious he makes progress in the case and its result is the rest of the film to disclose.It's not as funny as I anticipated. But watchable film for its quality narration. The actors were just okay. The characters were really weak, particularly the villains. They occasionally appear and gone for forever, and then there comes the final battle. Did not sync well between them and the cop, especially what they were fighting for, other than they are. Especially the FBI agent played by Don Cheadle casting was worthless. For a fine theme like this, the plot should have developed with at least a couple of twists and maybe a grand action sequence. It does not matter though, at least engaging plot needed, but failed on that part. Sorry to say that I'm not in favour of it to suggest it to anybody, though you might it better than me.5/10
estebangonzalez10 "Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, these men are armed and dangerous, and you being an FBI agent you're more used to shooting at unarmed women and children."John Michael McDonagh's feature film debut is as irreverent as the main character of this movie played by Brendan Gleeson who isn't afraid of the repercussions his words might have on the rest of his peers. Gleeson plays an unorthodox Irish policeman of a small local community who when attending a meeting with an American FBI agent played by Don Cheadle makes a number of racist remarks such as "I thought only black lads were drug dealers?" and then justifies his behavior by claiming "I'm Irish. Racism is part of my culture." The Guard is basically a vehicle for Gleeson to make all sorts of irreverent remarks and that is where most of the laughs come from as you combine McDonagh's witty screenplay with Gleeson's performance. We'd seen Gleeson team up with McDonagh's brother in the past working with a similar sense of Irish humor in In Bruges. Your enjoyment for this film depends on your appreciation for this style of humor, which is very different from American comedies, since it is dry, rude, and insolent. McDonagh isn't worried about being politically correct and Gleeson's perfect delivery of each line made The Guard an entertaining experience for me. The humor doesn't always work like in In Bruges, but at least it hits most of its notes. Gleeson and Cheadle have a couple of great scenes together, but there are also some great supporting performances from Liam Cunningham, Mark Strong, and David Wilmot. The opening scene is one of the funniest I've seen in recent months and it sets the tone of the film perfectly with its dark humor. A group of young kids are driving at a high speed in their sport vehicle and just as they pass a local policeman and the camera focuses on him we hear a loud crash. Inspector Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) walks to the sight of the accident and searches the pockets of the victims finding some drugs and taking them while making some witty remark about not wanting to tell their mother's what he has found. We are then introduced to Gerry and his confrontational personality when he teams up with FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) who is in the small Irish town investigating a multimillion dollar drug trafficking operation. Gerry doesn't seem too interested in the drug case, but when these drug dealers cross the line and try to intimidate him he decides they've gone to far. The movie could've easily fallen into predictable territory centering on the odd- couple humor, but thanks to Gleeson's performance and McDonagh's script it stands out as an original film. The Guard deconstructs much of the detective procedural elements we've seen in other movies and McDonagh seems to have a lot of fun doing this as he directs his own material. His directorial debut showed a lot of promise, and surprisingly in his sophomore film, Calvary, he shies away from the genre and enters into more dramatic territory although continuing to work with Gleeson. It seems the two have established a solid relationship as the director's writing seems perfect for the actor's delivery. The Guard is an unconventional character study that had me laughing during most of its runtime. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/
Ole Sandbaek Joergensen The cold attitude, black comedy and relaxed way of Sergeant Gerry Boyle is very likable on film anyway, I think his counterpart FBI agent Wendell Everett finds it a bit strange and annoying :)Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle makes a great team in this film, they do get on each others nerves, but are both very likable and funny. The film has the same easy going attitude, it strides along slowly and have some bumps here and there, but it all fits in and plays out very well at the end.This is highly entertaining, British black comedy, great in so many ways :)
LeonLouisRicci This Film was Made in Ireland by Irishmen. The Accents are as Thick as the Profanity in this Satirical Ethnic Crime Film. There is a lot of Humor Derived from Stereotypical Racism, so if that Offends, Stay Away from this. Ditto if Four Letter Words Turn You off.At Times Raunchy, but it is All Done with such Light-Heartedness that it Smooths Over Quite Nicely. Brenden Gleeson's Star Turn is Admirable and Along with the Sharp and Delightful Cinematography Carry the Show. There is a Bit of Bite to the Dialog and the Film Fluctuates from Warm-Hearted Taking Care of Mom Stuff to Philosophical Rants from Unlikely Criminals and Such, a Modern Flourish that hasn't Worn Out its Welcome.Don Cheadle Plays Don Cheadle and is there Mostly to take the Brunt of Gleeson's Riffs on Drugs, Sex, Race, Crime, and Corruption. The Film Stays Fresh in a Genre and Style that is Getting Quite Old but Still has some Staying Power when it is done with Wit and Heart.