Review of The Guard (2011) by Joel M — 21 Mar 2012

You could love it or leave it, but the raucous comedy "The Guard" is on guard as one of the most original movies of 2011; saying that, "The Guard" does have its flaws. Writer-Director John Michael McDonagh's (and no he is not a Doobie Brother) movie stars an excellent Brendan Gleeson as the unorthodox Sergeant Boyle; and boyle o boyle, is he a verbal reckless toot. Let's just say that Boyle is not exactly the Guardian Angel of the West Ireland community he serves, but nevertheless he gets the job done. When a couple of murders tied to drug trafficking occur in the Irish town, FBI American Agent Wendell Everett heads on over to Ireland to see if he can get some of that luck of the Irish in catching the perpetrators. When Wendell teams up with Boyle to investigate the matter, let's just say that their contrasting personalities are kept unguarded. Boyle's unconventional methods of investigation, though quite funny, is not the premier comic highlight of the movie; but its pretty much Boyle being his nasty self is what brings up the belly laughs. And we have the outstanding performance of Brendan Gleeson to thank for that. Don Cheadle's restrained performance as Everett stood its ground, but was overshadowed by Gleeson's scene-stealing work. I also thought that Mark Strong's thespian effort as one of the drug trafficker baddies was quite strong, but it is quite apparent that Mr. Strong is being typecast way too often as a strong bad man in movies; yes, a villain. McDonagh's direction of "The Guard" was mostly on guard, but I preferred his daring screenplay. "The Guard" does suffer from third act demise syndrome; but most of the film does catch you off guard with its innovative eccentricities, and not to mention Boyle's "what is he going to say or do next" verbal and physical maneuvers. So on your guard, get set, and go, and watch the great Brendan Gleeson let his guard down or up in "The Guard".

**** Good.