# The Guard (2011 movie) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878 "2013-01-11T18:06:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/1 "2013-01-11T18:06:57Z")
I picked [The Guard](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1540133/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) from Netflix pretty much at random for some reason that I can’t remember at this point, and it finally showed up yesterday. I went into the movie with no expectations, no idea what the story was about, and no idea who the actors were, but I ended up loving it. The story is pretty basic; you have your scarastic wisecracking Irish cop and your uptight American FBI agent working a case together, but somehow the result was better than I’d ever seen from the genre before. It was much drier and sarcastic then you would see from an American movie, but I love that kind of dry humor. The Irish actor absolutely nails it, and Don Cheadle is the perfect straight man. The Irish accents are pretty thick, and there were a couple of punch lines that I couldn’t get even after replaying a couple of times, but if you’re willing to struggle through thick Irish accents and you like dry humor, go see this movie. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/2 "2013-01-11T18:11:53Z")
I’ll give it a try, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/3 "2013-01-11T18:16:22Z")
Very good movie. Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson do a really good job. You might also want to check out **In Bruges**. (BTW, I think there is another thread about **The Guard** around here somewhere.) ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/4 "2013-01-11T18:23:28Z")
Very good film. Loved the performances and story. Great showcase piece for Brendan Gleeson. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/5 "2013-01-11T19:01:38Z")
I concur. My expectations were exceeded as well. Gleeson is really spot on and the movie is very satisfying on all levels. Well worth seeing, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/6 "2013-01-11T19:03:03Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > Very good movie. Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson do a really good job. You might also want to check out **In Bruges**. (BTW, I think there is another thread about **The Guard** around here somewhere.) Ahhh, I just did a search and see it was discussed earlier, [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=622078&highlight=guard). So nice to watch a movie I’d never heard of and love it that I had to rush here and mention it. 🙂 Pity it didn’t get more interest in the US (IMDB says gross of only $5 million) ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/7 "2013-01-11T20:14:15Z")
Unless you’re about to show me a picture of a really ugly baby, I don’t want to see it. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/8 "2013-01-13T03:00:39Z")
I have a question about the end of the movie. The Irish cop stops the boat from taking off and is presumed dead from the fire on the boat. I can’t really explain why I feel this but I was wondering if anyone else thought that he faked his own death to escape that dead end small town and if the FBI agent really thought he was dead and not just helping him get away with faking his death. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/9 "2013-01-13T03:06:37Z")
I watched because Netflix thought that I would like it. I absolutely loved it. Great characters and well written. I did start it over after ten minutes with the subtitles on. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/10 "2013-01-13T09:20:08Z")
medstar writes: \> I have a question about the end of the movie. The Irish cop stops the boat from \> taking off and is presumed dead from the fire on the boat. I can’t really explain \> why I feel this but I was wondering if anyone else thought that he faked his \> own death to escape that dead end small town and if the FBI agent really \> thought he was dead and not just helping him get away with faking his death. \> Anyone? I thought it was clear that the movie showed that the FBI agent realized (right at the end) that the Irish cop had probably escaped and faked his death well enough that no one could follow him. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/11 "2013-01-13T17:50:25Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I thought it was clear that the movie showed that the FBI agent realized (right at the end) that the Irish cop had probably escaped and faked his death well enough that no one could follow him. That was my take on it too. The little smile that just peeks out from Cheedle’s face as he realizes what the kid on the bike reminded him of “but he’s a strong swimmer”. Excellent movie. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/12 "2013-01-13T18:15:49Z")
I also took a clue from the music at the end - “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. He definitely survived. We know he had a big wad of cash. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/13 "2013-01-13T23:08:50Z")
I’m in the US, and on Netflix it’s only available on DVD for me. But will keep my eye open for when it comes to instant queue, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/14 "2013-01-13T23:12:49Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Ahhh, I just did a search and see it was discussed earlier, [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=622078&highlight=guard). So nice to watch a movie I’d never heard of and love it that I had to rush here and mention it. 🙂 Pity it didn’t get more interest in the US (IMDB says gross of only $5 million) It was only released in around 200 theaters, so that’s really not bad. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/15 "2013-01-14T14:43:10Z")
I particularly liked the self-awareness of the standard fish-out-of-water outsider cop working with the local cop movie. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/16 "2013-01-14T14:54:00Z")
I saw this when it hit theaters here and thought it was pretty good. The only thing I remember disliking about it was when the third act devolved into a big cliche of machine-gun fire and blowing stuff up. (Not that I have anything against blowing stuff up, I was just expecting something more from such a clever script.) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/17 "2013-01-14T15:04:13Z")
I got this movie from Netflix after seeing someone mention it in the “In Bruges” thread. I thought it was really well done. As for the thick Irish accents, well that’s what subtitles are for. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/18 "2013-08-10T02:56:10Z")
Just finished watching the film. It was ok, watchable, but not exactly amazing. The guy disappearing/escaping at the end bit just seemed silly to me. Even for an Irish person some of the dialogue was difficult, I think it was just badly recorded in parts. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guard-2011-movie/646878/19 "2013-08-10T04:17:25Z")
I thought it was a very entertaining movie. Someone recommended it in a thread about _In Bruges_, another black comedy with Brendan Gleeson, and I was not disappointed in getting it.