The Guard [Blu-ray]

Customer Rating :

List Price : $35.99 Price : $20.84

Product Description

The Guard is a comedic, fish out of water tale of murder, blackmail, drug trafficking, and rural police corruption. Two cops (Gleeson and Cheadle) one an unorthodox Irish policeman and the other, a straitlaced FBI agent, must join forces to take on an international drug-smuggling gang.

Amazon.com

Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) of Galway is crass and abrasive and interprets the law a bit freely, all to glorious comic effect. Paired with strait-laced American FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle), Boyle seeks to solve a couple of murders and disrupt a massive drug shipment in what could have been a trashy fish-out-of-water buddy comedy--but, through a combination of sharp and witty writing, ruthlessly speedy editing, and understated but spot-on performances, The Guard is a marvel of character-based storytelling. Gleeson (28 Days Later, In Bruges) and Cheadle are peerless actors, the kind who rarely star in blockbusters but who bring dynamic life to any scene they're in. The supporting cast is chock-full of off-kilter talent, turning even the most incidental role into a memorable character. Writer-director John Michael McDonagh makes a remarkably accomplished feature debut; The Guard moves forward with gripping efficiency, yet every moment seems casual and often beside the point, crammed with colorful language, incidental comedy, and a deliciously eclectic soundtrack. The result is hugely entertaining. One of the best films of 2011. --Bret Fetzer

The Guard [Blu-ray] Reviews

The Guard [Blu-ray] Reviews

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review

 ( 34 customer reviews)

34 Reviews

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

40 of 48 people found the following review helpful: A marvelous gem of black-humor and unique characters - Fargo in coastal Ireland, August 31, 2011 By  Whitt Patrick Pond "Whitt" (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews       The Guard, a small independent film from Ireland written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, is something of a gem. On the surface, it could fall into any number of the usual categories - crime drama, fish-out-of-water story, odd couple forced to work together buddy flick - but none of those labels would do it proper justice. The closest thing I can truly compare it to is the Coen brothers' film Fargo. Like Fargo, The Guard deals with a homicide in a quiet rural area (in this case coastal Ireland instead of Minnesota) being investigated by the local authority (in this case an idiosyncratic Garda - Irish policeman - instead of a highly pregnant sheriff). But also like Fargo, what makes the film truly interesting is the character studies that unfold as we see both sides - the police and the criminals - going about their missions. And in a final comparison to Fargo and to Coen brothers films in general, the dialogue is frequently priceless. At the film's center is... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Report abuse | Permalink   Comment 24 of 29 people found the following review helpful: No Country For Middle Aged Men, September 8, 2011 By  L. Power "nlp trainer" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews       Update. 11/30/11. Last week, on my flight back to San Francisco, I watched a program about the making of The Guard, which has become the highest grossing Irish made movie ever at the Irish box office grossing 4.3 million Euros, beating the previous best, The wind That Shakes The Barley, starring Cillian Murphy. To put this this in an American context, it's about $1.50 for every man, woman and child in the country. Michael John McDonagh previously wrote the screenplay for Ned Kelly starring Heath Ledger which I remember as a good movie. His brother Martin has won an Academy Award nomination, for Best Original Screenplay for In Bruges, which also starred Brendan Gleeson, and what I consider the best performance of Colin Farrell's career, and an Academy award for the short feature Six Shooter,... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Report abuse | Permalink   Comments (6) 10 of 11 people found the following review helpful: YOU LOST ME AT "WE"., October 8, 2011 By  Michael Ledo (Windsor, SC United States) - See all my reviews       Brendan Gleeson stars as a small town Sgt. in Ireland. In many ways he reminded me of Andy of Mayberry in that he has his own local quirky ways of doing things, but beneath it all he is quite intelligent. There are some international drug smugglers in his area and the FBI has sent Don Cheadle to work with the very frank, sometimes crass Gleeson who believes racial stereotypes and has no problems questioning Cheadle to the point of his frustration. The writing is witty and the quirky characters are reminiscent of a Coen brothers masterpiece. Cheadle is talking about the recent killing to Gleeson: CHEADLE: "We need to go door to door and ask people if they saw anything." GLEESON: "You lost me at 'we'". CHEADLE: "You and I need... GLEESON: "It's my day off." Effective use of sound track. Great script. Funny. Clever. F-bomb, no nudity, adult situations. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Report abuse | Permalink   Comment

Share your thoughts with other customers:

›  See all 34 customer reviews...