The Guard

Comments

• G1

  Can't wait to see it :)

  Posted 14:53 | Sun 3rd Jul 2011

• saskia1806

  seen it....hilarious :-)

  Posted 09:39 | Thu 7th Jul 2011

• Will.i.am

  Was at the premiere last night at Eye Cinema, Didnt get in to it obviously, Going back 2night, cnt wait...

  Posted 14:16 | Thu 7th Jul 2011

• ellegibbons

  Went to the premiere last week, really enjoyed this movie. Brendan Glesson carried the movie throughout, a laugh out loud and Classic Irish movie set to stand the test of time along with classics such as 'The Van' and 'The Snapper'. Worth going to see this movie!

  Posted 09:02 | Mon 11th Jul 2011

• Dan

  Good to see Irish films back in the mainstream. Speaking of which I just came across a quality trailer for some new mock on the Irish porn industry here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1lzpG9kuXY

  Posted 15:09 | Mon 11th Jul 2011

• CherrySueDointhedo

  John Michael McDonagh, screenwriter of Ned Kelly debuted this aptly genre titled Black Irish Comedy at the Sundance Festival this year to great acclaim. It's interesting to note that the last truly brilliant Irish comedy starring Brendan Gleeson that debuted at last years festival, In Bruges, was the baby of John's brother Martin. They grew the Directors sharp in that family. I did have concerns in the first 20 mins that we were bordering dangerously close to Darby O' Gill territory with plenty of F's & not a lot of tact but was quickly and happily proven wrong as the movie and the plot picked up pace. Throw a brutal murder, drug smuggling, tests in morality and the barren landscape of the 'wesht' and the scene is set. The soundtrack, perfectly chosen supports the movie brilliantly. Enter Don Cheadle as an FBI agent with the initial impression that he's a big fish in a little pond but he quickly realises he's out of his depth altogether and floundering with only the gloriously unPC and refreshingly dry Gleeson's character Sgt Boyle to assist him. (Who, in my opinion, provides us with a hilarious nod to Daniel Craig; you'll know it when you see it). There are laugh out loud moments and situations, which the whole cinema enjoyed. These were provided by the support cast too, namely Liam Cunningham and Mark Strong but to say the others didn't add their own gravitas would be doing them a disservice. This film shows once more Gleeson's outstanding ability to take a role and make it his own, McDonagh certainly provided a sharp yet subtle dialogue but I can't imagine any other actor having the comic timing or the on screen presence to pull this movie off, because it is his movie. A personal highlight for me was the beautiful relationship he held with his ailing mother, whom I believe is the only character to truly know Sgt. Boyle. Don Cheadle's character at one point says to Gleeson, 'I can't decide if you're really motherfu*kin' smart or really motherfu*kin' dumb', I've decided and you should definitely get yourself along to this movie to decide for yourself.

  Posted 16:40 | Mon 11th Jul 2011

• Deli

  Great film, great actors and great story line. Gleeson is hilarious as the "anti hero" of this movie with a lot of screen time devoted to serving him up as the Columbo of the West! Strong and Cunningham are great as the "non black or mexican" drug smugglers and Cheadle plays the fish out of water very well. Comic timing is fantastic and while there are a few dark moments in this film it really is a credit to all involved. 5 stars :D

  Posted 10:38 | Thu 14th Jul 2011

• Happy Chappy

  Great movie - dark and most of it works very well.

  Posted 09:32 | Mon 18th Jul 2011

• PabloH

  No, I am sorry, I didn't get this. It felt like Emperor and New Clothes to me the way everyone is drooling around the McDonaghs, but then I hated In Bruges too. For me much of The Guard was shallow and crass. Am I really to laugh at lines like "I thought only black fellas were drug smugglers?, or "In a wheel chair? Oh you mean a spastic." And the editing! We start with quite a protracted scene of some lads in a car speeding, drug taking and drinking, who then crash into a wall like some Road Safety Authority advertisement, and then we never refer to them again. We cut to a clump of holiday cottages, where Sergeant Boyle meets for the first time a Guard from Dublin at a murder scene with two Cappuccinos. Please, it just didn't make sense. Then the swearing. It is f**kin' this and f**kin' that. Like the worst sort of failed stand-up. As the introspective philosophy quoting bad guys, I could just imagine the script team sitting round wondering what else they could throw in and someone suggesting a little Tarantino, only done badly. Tired, and done very badly. So what did I like? There were some laughs, thin ones; Brendan Gleeson was brilliant; the cameo from Pat Shortt was hilarious; the production quality was high; and the large font red end credits were well done, and much appreciated.

  Posted 19:38 | Wed 20th Jul 2011

• Tomboy

  You must go to see this film, a laugh a minute and oddly enough a good story. I loved it. Gleeson was brillant.

  Posted 15:29 | Thu 21st Jul 2011

• noel

  Average at best after all the hype its just average Gleeson is fine looks like he was having a ball, with him aside its not very good, looks cheap, lots of swearing is not funny, No where near as good as the excellent In Bruges, a damn shame as this had the potential to be as good if not better. 2 stars both for Gleeson.

  Posted 20:18 | Sat 23rd Jul 2011

• Raikkonette

  This movie was absolutely horrible. The linear, convoluted plot was poorly hashed together, and completely bogged down by a mish-mash of sub-plots that lead nowhere. Poorly scripted "comedy" (and I use the term lightly) falls flat on it's face, and centers solely around 5 things: drugs, swear words, prostitutes, racism, and the IRA. The director completely misses the meaning of the term "black comedy", interpreting it to mean being downright offensive, and the screenwriter must have the sense of humour of a 14 year old boy. Definitely give this one a miss, don't be led on by all the hype as I was. Your money would be much better spent going to your local rental store, and treating yourself to another viewing of the fantastic "In Bruges", directed by Martin McDonagh, clearly the vastly superior brother in terms of talent. There is a man who understands the true meaning of black comedy, and uses it to magnificent effect.

  Posted 01:30 | Wed 27th Jul 2011

• foodie

  Brendan Gleeson - what a legend!

  Posted 14:59 | Thu 28th Jul 2011

• Bjorn264

  Good, not great, expected another In Bruges, but what you got was a very straight up, formulaic comedy, a very safe comedy. Some good one-liners, but that's about it.

  Posted 20:39 | Tue 2nd Aug 2011

• Kisser

  PabloH up above gave my views exactly on this film. Absolute rubbish. I feel cheated out of my few euros I spent seeing it. So bad I was cringing all the way through for the director.

  Posted 09:52 | Wed 3rd Aug 2011

• Slick

  Puts a smile on your face - easy going always humorous, at times shocking, sometimes laugh out loud top notch comedy. Forget the pretensions of Hollywood's trying too hard this year, esp. Horrible Bosses - you'll love Glesson (a new hero), Galway and the going's on...this delivers surprises, shocks and bang on humour. Sit back and relax - you''ll emerge better for it.

  Posted 11:30 | Thu 4th Aug 2011

• LuckyMe

  Having heard great things about this film, I was sure it wasn't going to live up to the hype. But it did. Brendan Gleeson was terrific as a Galway Garda. It's not often that a most of the audience are laughing out loud at the one liners, yes even the ones hat were completely politically incorrect. Think this is a film I will watch again and again and get a laugh each time.

  Posted 10:20 | Wed 10th Aug 2011

• thermos

  Does the soundtrack remind anyone else of a "Spaghetti Weshtern" ?

  Posted 22:15 | Mon 15th Aug 2011

• Neelie509

  Great film. very funny, whitty, well made and excellent actors. Defo one to have on the shelf at home! :)

  Posted 16:56 | Wed 14th Sep 2011

• LittleVillage

  Reminded me of a Guy Ritchie film (is there a bigger insult?).. Over-Hyped, clunky and overdone. Tries way to hard, completely cliched.. main character is all over the place, one minute Gleeson is in the depths of depression, next minute he is wise cracking, next minute depressed again. WTF ! Good things about this film, in fairness there are a few - Rory Keenan, Mark Strong (they steal every scene they are in) and Galway - Looks great. Overall - Avoid this turd and rent "Intermission" or "I went down"

  Posted 13:07 | Fri 16th Sep 2011

• michelle o callaghan

  HILARIOUS =D

  Posted 12:14 | Sat 8th Oct 2011

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