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IMDbPro

The Guardians

Original title: Zashchitniki
  • 20172017
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
4.0/10
14K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,570
291
Anton Pampushnyy, Sanjar Madi, Sebastien Sisak, and Alina Lanina in The Guardians (2017)
Trailer for The Guardians
Play trailer2:21
2 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureComedy
During the Cold War, an organization called "Patriot" created a super-hero squad, which includes members of multiple Soviet republics. For years, the heroes had to hide their identities, but... Read allDuring the Cold War, an organization called "Patriot" created a super-hero squad, which includes members of multiple Soviet republics. For years, the heroes had to hide their identities, but in hard times they must show themselves again.During the Cold War, an organization called "Patriot" created a super-hero squad, which includes members of multiple Soviet republics. For years, the heroes had to hide their identities, but in hard times they must show themselves again.
IMDb RATING
4.0/10
14K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,570
291
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Sarik Andreasyan
    • Writer
      • Andrey Gavrilov(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Anton Pampushnyy
      • Sanjar Madi
      • Sebastien Sisak
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Sarik Andreasyan
    • Writer
      • Andrey Gavrilov(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Anton Pampushnyy
      • Sanjar Madi
      • Sebastien Sisak
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 178User reviews
    • 50Critic reviews
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos2

    The Guardians
    Trailer 2:21
    The Guardians
    The Guardians
    Trailer 2:20
    The Guardians

    Photos271

    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)
    The Guardians (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anton Pampushnyy
    Anton Pampushnyy
    • Arsus
    Sanjar Madi
    Sanjar Madi
    • Khan
    • (as Sanzhar Madi)
    Sebastien Sisak
    Sebastien Sisak
    • Ler
    • (as Sebastyan Sisak Grigoryan)
    Alina Lanina
    Alina Lanina
    • Kseniya
    Valeriya Shkirando
    Valeriya Shkirando
    • Mayor Elena Larina
    Vyacheslav Razbegaev
    Vyacheslav Razbegaev
    • General-mayor Nikolay Dolgov
    Stanislav Shirin
    • Avgust Kuratov
    Aleksandr Komissarov
    • Viktor Dobronravov
    Nikolay Shestak
    Nikolay Shestak
    • Fyodor
    Elizaveta Polyakova
    Viktor Mishchenchuk
    Polina Polyakova
    Yuriy Pilyugin
    Svetlana Tulskaya
    Andrey Bobrov
    Mila Maximova
    Mila Maximova
    • Varvara Rogachyova
    • (as Mila Maksimova)
    Yuliya Afanaseva
    Yuliya Afanaseva
    Igor Maslov
    Igor Maslov
    • Ministr oborony RF
    • Director
      • Sarik Andreasyan
    • Writer
      • Andrey Gavrilov(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Guardians

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The movie has some parallels with various Marvel characters. Arsus being a scientist, changing into a large powerhouse, (whos pants somehow dont rip unless in full bear mode) is like Hulk. Kahn moves at the speeds of Quicksilver. When Ler covered his body in rocks he resembled The Thing. And Kseniya has a power set close to the Invisible Woman. Patriot is similar to S.H.I.E.L.D.
    • Goofs
      Both times when Arsus morphs into a full bear, ripping his pants, he reappears in human form having a full set of pants and boots.
    • Quotes

      Khan: In this world, even good has to clench its fists.

    • Crazy credits
      In mid-credits scene, Yelena is transported in a back of a truck by two soldiers. When they open the door, she attacks them, killing one and subduing the other, who, when asked who sent them, says: "Ferrum".
    • Alternate versions
      When the film was originally released in Germany, the dubbing was highly criticized for adding lowbrow humor. To rectify this, distributor Capelight ordered a new dubbing (which reflected the original tone of the movie) and the film was re-released (with both dubbings) on Blu-ray/DVD.
    • Connections
      Featured in BadComedian: Zaschitniki (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Zashchitniki
      ("Guardians")

      Written by Oleg Tsoy & Kseniya Vinogradova

      Performed by Yuliya Tereshchenko

    User reviews178

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    This could have been a good movie.
    'Guardians,' or 'Zashchitniki,' as the Russian title would have it, has a reputation that precedes it. I recall well watching the first trailer prior to its release, and being intrigued. I also remember how quickly and thoroughly the completed film was panned, across the board. Yet my curiosity could only be sated by seeing it for myself. More than anything else, I'm disappointed.

    In both its writing and direction, 'Guardians' is direct and unsubtle to the point of absurdity. Every possible bit of exposition is delivered in the first few minutes, including opening credits that cement the nature of these superheroes and visualize their origin. This opening sequence is at once adequate in its purpose, while also perhaps too indiscreetly showing its hand - moviegoers don't actually want to see how the meat gets made, but we get the whole picture.

    Dialogue and plot points are all ham-fisted and forthright beyond all reason, disallowing the cast any opportunity to exercise their craft or meaningfully inhabit their roles. Action sequences follow this bent while also being executed with such flawless perfection as to actively shred our suspension of disbelief. Every character has perfect knowledge of anything happening; just as there's no nuance in the picture for the audience to pick up on, there are not truly any secrets in the narrative for characters to discover.

    Not one scene or emotional beat is given the chance to manifest, linger, and resolve of its own accord - I don't think I've ever seen another movie as forcefully, strenuously fast-paced as this. 'Guardians' does technically possess all those elements we would expect of a modern-day superhero film, but they are glossed over with such a slippery, waxy sheen that the picture blows right past them. It wouldn't be wrong to say this feels like a parody or caricature of a comic book flick, but perhaps more to the point, it's like this movie is a supercondensed microcosm of the genre. And that's a big problem, seeing as how this style of film is all about showing us how big, grand, and expansive the universe can be in all its possibilities.

    From a technical standpoint, I think 'Guardians' is actually just fine. Makeup, hair, costume design and wardrobe, set design and decoration, art direction, and fight choreography all look swell as far a I'm concerned. I think the sound design is good, and the original music of composer Georgiy Zheryakov. On the other hand, like the action sequences, special effects and computer-generated visuals mostly have the opposite problem of the typical subpar B-movie: usually we anticipate effects that fail to blend seamlessly into the real world, as seen on camera, because of how poor they are. Here, the CGI is so carefully, lovingly rendered that it looks too unbelievably impeccable to seem real.

    I don't generally like to bad-mouth actors in a film - after all, they can only work with the material they're given from the writer, and the instruction imparted by the director. Moreover, knowing nothing of the cast of 'Guardians,' I don't want to make any snap judgments. But I do think it's safe to say that Andrei Gavrilov's screenplay and Sarik Andreasyan's direction conspire to rob the actors of any opportunity to actually... well, act. The whole film moves so quickly - again, distinctly and pointedly bereft of all subtlety - that the cast seems to have no significant agency at all. We've seen what world-class actors are reduced to in the films of Uwe Boll; I have no specific reason to think this situation is any different.

    What's most remarkable, though, is that I really think 'Guardians' could have been a good movie. It could have been a good franchise, for that matter. As inelegantly as it's exhibited, the ideas in the narrative have fun potential that's locked away by the sheer aggressiveness and gracelessness of the film's construction. If Gavrilov, Andreasyan, and editor Georgiy Isaakyan allowed scenes, dialogue, and characters to breathe on their own, this wouldn't have been a 90-minute speed demon. For all the narrative content slammed through the funnel of its abbreviated runtime, 'Guardians' could and should have easily, actually, been 2 hours long at the bare minimum, or even a couple movies in and of itself - to say nothing of possibly developing additional features from the threads left dangling at this movie's conclusion. I would have liked to have learned more about these characters, and to have seen this cast flex their muscles. As it is, that just wasn't possible.

    It's worth noting, in passing, that as viewers our attention is so enraptured with the indelicate presentation that by comparison we hardly notice the clear effort to ape successful Hollywood superhero features of the years preceding this production. The similarity of some scenes is unmistakable, and the Russian superheroes themselves are echoes of readily identifiable comic book properties. But in the time it takes us to process that recognition, we're already two scenes ahead, so the mimicry hardly even matters.

    This is such an odd movie. I admire the concept, the narrative had potential, and I would have liked to see these ideas and this cast given real life. But for as preposterously direct, straightforward - and, once more, highly unsubtle - as the picture is, it feels like a warped facsimile of the superhero epic it could have been. It's a shame, really.

    'Guardians,' or 'Zashchitniki,' is far from the worst movie you've ever going to see. Yet so unsound, deficient, and inhibitive is its build that one could be forgiven for thinking there was conscious intent by the film-makers to undercut their own production.

    Recommended for curious, persevering, and open-minded audiences.
    helpful•3
    1
    • I_Ailurophile
    • Aug 2, 2021

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 23, 2017 (Russia)
    • Country of origin
      • Russia
    • Official sites
      • Official Instagram (Russia)
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Language
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • Guardians
    • Production companies
      • Big Cinema House
      • Enjoy Movies
      • Renovatio Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • RUR 380,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $9,765,483
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39:1

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