Overview
A small-town cop navigates the chaos of crime and humor in rural Ireland.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- irreverent
- sardonic
- profane
- dark comedy night
- crime movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a sharply written, profane, violent, and highly entertaining Irish variation on the buddy-cop format, led by Brendan Gleeson's charismatic performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Gerry Boyle and Wendell Everett must cooperate despite radically different temperaments, methods, and attitudes toward authority.
Boyle's confrontational remarks, sexual frankness, and deliberately offensive jokes drive the film's distinctive black-comic register.
A small West of Ireland community becomes the point of contact for a major cocaine-smuggling investigation.
Boyle rejects police hierarchies and conventional professional behavior while confronting the smuggling conspiracy on his own terms.
Films like The Guard, and why
In Bruges
Shares an irreverent buddy-cop structure, abrasive humor, criminal investigation, and violent comic tone.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Combines eccentric law enforcement characters, profane black comedy, crime plotting, and morally unconventional protagonists.
Fargo
Offers a stylized rural crime story driven by sardonic dialogue, sudden violence, and an outsider investigator.
Hot Fuzz
Shares a darkly comic police partnership, underworld intrigue, and a charismatic antiheroic central performance.
Movie Details
- Director
- John Michael McDonagh
- Release Date
- 2011-07-07
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (1467)
Cast
- Brendan Gleeson
- Don Cheadle
- Liam Cunningham
- Mark Strong
- Katarina Čas
- David Wilmot
- Rory Keenan
- Laurence Kinlan
- Dominique McElligott
- Sarah Greene
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Guard about?
- An irreverent West of Ireland sergeant and a by-the-book FBI agent clash their way into a dangerous cocaine-smuggling investigation.
- What is The Guard like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Guard as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Guard violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Guard as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Guard?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a sharply written, profane, violent, and highly entertaining Irish variation on the buddy-cop format, led by Brendan Gleeson's charismatic performance.
- Which films are like The Guard?
- Films with a similar feel include In Bruges, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Fargo, and Hot Fuzz.
- How long is The Guard?
- The Guard runs 96 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Guard?
- In United States, The Guard streams on Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel.
