The Guard 2011

Tom Long, Detroit News: There are few things finer in cinema than Brendan Gleeson's fat, happy face. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: Crisp, acid-tongued and sharply acted, it's the sort of exercise in tangy Celtic cynicism that's become one of the Emerald Isle's most reliable imports. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: When it's over it evaporates, leaving only the acrid smoke of its dialogue and the memory of Gleeson reducing lesser mortals to cinders. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: In a cinema world so awash in either corporate flatness or high-art pretension, "The Guard" is a proud, foul-mouthed exception. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Like an Irish version of "In the Heat of the Night," the profane and frequently hilarious "The Guard" watches the sparks fly as a smart African-American detective teams up with an unapologetically racist County Galway policeman. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Mr. Gleeson's rogue is a treat, however conceptually contrived, and Mr. Cheadle's lightly played gravity is a pleasure. Read more

Alison Willmore, Time Out: [Gleeson] is both the comic center and the melancholy heart of a film that's content to put its sprawl of engaging characters above their meandering trail of misdeeds. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Though Cheadle is good as a man pushed to his breaking point at every moment, the movie belongs to Gleeson, who keeps his character enigmatic even while engaging in every possible act of slovenly excess and gross negligence. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: "The Guard" is not the most original buddy-cop movie you'll see, but it well may be one of the most entertaining. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Reader: Brendan Gleeson, as beefily Irish an actor as anyone since Victor McLaglen, is always believable and frequently hilarious. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: This black comedy needed to be a whole lot blacker and funnier. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: McDonagh's script is agile, darting between the ridiculous, the sage and the surprisingly sentimental. His love of language and the absurd has hints of the wisecracking Quentin Tarantino. But the story is decidedly more rooted in Ireland's loamy turf. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Don Cheadle, as an FBI agent trying to stop a drug ring, makes the perfect foil. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: This is a very Irish, very McDonagh, very Gleeson production, with the requisite amount of cheerfully abrasive humor and mayhem. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: Scabrous, profane, violent, verbally adroit and often hilarious, this twisted and exceptionally accomplished variation on the buddy-cop format is capped by a protean performance from Brendan Gleeson. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: An impish and impudent black comedy that knows where it's going and how to get there, it gives veteran actor Brendan Gleeson one of the tastiest roles of his career and introduces a gifted writer-director with a familiar family name. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: Gleeson and Cheadle are a pair of sharply matched pros who pour their heart into a narrow range of riffs and mannerisms that take the place of character and thought. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: "The Guard," alas, is just as flawed as Gerry. But occasionally - when Gleeson or Cheadle or Flanagan is on screen - it's nice to pretend it isn't. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: If the movie's mix of nihilistic violence and snarky attitude suggests In Bruges, it's a family resemblance. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: McDonagh indulges in too many '90s affectations, from blaring chapter titles to philosophizing gangsters. But he captures his misty setting's insular atmosphere beautifully. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: McDonagh is your man when it comes to cruelly funny dialogue, and Gleeson makes it sing and sting. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Rich with inspired musings on pop culture, literature, philosophy, race, sex. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: "The Guard" is a pleasure. I can't tell if it's really (bleeping) dumb or really (bleeping) smart, but it's pretty (bleeping) good. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: A nifty little Irish summer vacation. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "The Guard" is violent, profane and funny. Read more

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. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: A hugely entertaining but frustratingly disorganised film, packed with priceless moments which never quite coalesce into a rewarding whole. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Brendan Gleeson is a blooming marvel. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Rudely funny and faintly melancholic... screenwriter John Michael McDonagh's directorial debut is a stylish lark whose many disparate elements somehow manage to go down as smoothly as Guinness. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: As Cheadle drifts around a vaguely thought-through role, The Guard bets everything on Gleeson's boyish twinkle -- and tends to overestimate its own raffish charm. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: "The Guard" himself may be no angel, but his movie is a wee slice of heaven. Read more