DVD Review - The Guard

The Guard was the 3rd best-reviewed comedy of 2011, of comedies that were in English and live-action. It was on three top ten lists and it stands at 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. All that being said, I did not enjoy this film really at all.

Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges and Green Zone) stars as Sgt. Boyle, an unconventional cop in a rural area of Ireland. He teams up with an American FBI agent, played by Don Cheadle, to search and stop deadly, international drug dealers.

After about the first 15 minutes, it's clear that Sgt. Boyle is an absolutely awful character. He's simply repulsive, which I assume is meant to be the joke, and having repulsive or unlikeable characters in movies is not by itself a criticism. It's simply that the repulsiveness and unlikeable nature are a bit relentless.

Every other word is the "f" word. Every other word is that curse word, and that's simply not enough to make a good comedy, screenplay-wise, for me. There are some clever things that are in this piece, but added up it's simply not enough to call a good time. The performances aren't bad and Gleeson's Golden Globe nomination is not one that I begrudge.

But, I'd never again watch this film. In terms of buddy cop films, I'd take Beverly Hills Cop over this any day.

Two Stars out of Five.
Rated R for pervasive language, some violence, drug material and sexual content.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 36 mins.