The Guard

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The Guard

R

Released Jul 29, 2011

1h 35m

Comedy

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

94%

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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)

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

Rated: 3.5/5

Oct 18, 2011

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

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

Rated: 3/4

Aug 26, 2011

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

Brendan Gleeson is a blooming marvel.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 26, 2011

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Mark Seneviratne

Vague Visages

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.

Mar 26, 2024

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

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

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 1, 2023

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Tom Cassidy

Common Sense Media

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.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 28, 2021

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Christian C

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

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/27/25

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Maura D

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

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/08/25

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Troy R

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.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/03/25

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Will G

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.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/25

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Johannes S

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

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/27/25

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Barrie S

If you can bear the incessant and mostly unnecessary foul language, it really is a quite a good film. Superb acting from all the cast, sometimes quite poignant, other times quite funny, certainly watchable.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/26/24

Full Review

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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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