The Guard

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The Guard

R

2011

1h 35m

Comedy

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

136 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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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Apr 28

9/10

Gleeson is perfectly cast as the disgruntled, bitter lead – a no-nonsense yet excessively sardonic character who doesn’t do anything by the books, but get results anyway.

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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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Mickey B.

@Mickerdoo May 20

Given the parts I could understand, I thought Gleason was gleefully naughty and had fun chemistry with Cheadle. The setting was the star.

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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 06/08/2025

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 06/03/2025

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 03/17/2025

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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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