In the grand tradition of the once beloved swashbuckler, de Broca's On Guard is a topnotch example, especially considering it was material produced several times before.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 30, 2020

A dashing hero, dastardly villain and winsome distressed damsel, not to mention a melodramatic plot, thrilling sword fights and high-spirited comedy - all the elements you need to fashion the perfect swashbuckler.

| Mar 14, 2011

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 21, 2005

It was too silly and formulaic to get my undivided attention.

| Original Score: C+ | Mar 23, 2004

For both the artsy foreign-film crowd and the blue-collar action-movie fans

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 18, 2003

Full Review | Original Score: B | Apr 11, 2003

Sometimes, nothing satisfies like old-fashioned swashbuckling. And in this regard, On Guard delivers.

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 24, 2003

Touch!

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 24, 2003

Vastly enjoyable--a stylish, affectionate, old-fashioned swashbuckler...staged with such elan that the result is completely winning.

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 21, 2003

Despite its postdated irrelevance and its dopey title, this Daniel Auteuil vehicle is ludicrous fun.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 3, 2003

An awkward and indigestible movie.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 3, 2003

Turns out to be a nifty swashbuckler whose plot easily could have been lifted from a number of Douglas Fairbanks silent pictures.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 31, 2002

In the spirit of Voltaire and Molire, On Guard volleys great wit and deadly gestures in a milieu of lush apparel, landscapes, captivating music and 18th-century lacy sleeves.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 27, 2002

It's a tale well told and nearly irresistible.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 24, 2002

A big, gorgeous, sprawling swashbuckler that delivers its diversions in grand, uncomplicated fashion.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 20, 2002

"On Guard!" won't be placed in the pantheon of the best of the swashbucklers but it is a whole lot of fun and you get to see the one of the world's best actors, Daniel Auteuil, have a whale of a good time.

| Original Score: B | Dec 16, 2002

classic cinema served up with heart and humor

| Original Score: B | Dec 14, 2002

The sword fighting is well done and Auteuil is a goofy pleasure.

Full Review | Nov 27, 2002

This is, not to put too fine a point on it, a swashbuckler, a costume drama. If you love that old story form, you will be in old-fogy heaven, as it is nearly a perfect example of a genre that died out years ago.

Full Review | Nov 27, 2002

Though it lacks the utter authority of a genre gem, there's a certain robustness to this engaging mix of love and bloodletting.

| Original Score: B+ | Nov 11, 2002