The Guard (2011) | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

94% Tomatometer 139 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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The Guard

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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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Critics Reviews

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The Guard (2011) | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Roger Moore Tribune News Service A laugh-out-loud comedy as hard as "The French Connection," a modern spaghetti Western on the windswept wastes of Ireland." Rated: 4/4 Jan 9, 2013 Full Review The Guard (2011) | Rotten Tomatoes (2) 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 Full Review The Guard (2011) | Rotten Tomatoes (3) 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 Full Review The Guard (2011) | Rotten Tomatoes (4) 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 Full Review The Guard (2011) | Rotten Tomatoes (5) 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 Full Review The Guard (2011) | Rotten Tomatoes (6) 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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Victor A Refreshing, original (!!), special kind of humour, great photography and colours. A sort of more refined Guy Ritchie kind of movie. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/17/24 Full Review Kyle M Genetically-shared Ireland’s localized chronicles become active through a distinctively tonal, humorously subversive spin of the buddy cop genre, benefitting from the main duo’s ethical clashes to pull off how well-written and -performed this enjoyable case is. (B) Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/03/24 Full Review Joan K What a quirky, original movie with interesting characters. Fun to watch. I highly recommend it. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/24 Full Review Leilani Y Droll sense of humor with very authentic voices of all in plot and characters.plus slight mock art film markers and Cheadle and Gleeson are brilliant Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/24 Full Review K B Smashing, loved it. The end gets a little drawn out, still a great watch! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/21/24 Full Review Audience Member so funny and so fun Brendan Gleeson is quite an eccentric Irish policeman who is such a sourpuss and a bit of a pessimist I especially love when he and Don Cheadle are on screen cause the dynamics work I like Mark Strong too but he should have been the bigger villain in the picture as the film goes along you do get to know the policeman and why he's so uptight the scenery is just magnificient and alot of the humor adds punch to the script genuine laughs and WTF moments Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

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
Reprisal Films, UK Film Council, Element Films

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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