Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher star in THE GUARDIAN, the powerful, action-packed drama that takes you inside the never-before-seen world of the elite Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers. Reeling with grief in the wake of a mission gone tragically wrong, legendary Rescue Swimmer Ben Randall (Costner) is given a mission he doesn't want -- training raw recruits. Once there, he knocks heads with cocky Jake Fischer (Kutcher), a swimming champ driven by a painful secret, who's more interested in breaking Ben's records than saving lives. But Ben also sees Jake has what it takes to be the best of the best. Filled with spectacular rescues in the lethal waters of the Bering Sea, THE GUARDIAN is a riveting and compelling story that dives straight into the heart and soul of real heroes, the unsung guardians of the sea.
The Guardian offers satisfying entertainment with a no-nonsense combination of Hollywood formula and good old-fashioned star power. While honoring the men and women who serve as rescue swimmers for the U.S. Coast Guard, this predictable yet appealing drama is a well-crafted showcase for Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, who bring welcome depth and dimension to their formulaic roles. It's basically Top Gun for the Coast Guard, with Costner playing a legendary rescuer haunted by recent tragedy and the impending break-up of his marriage, and Kutcher as the hot-shot recruit whose bravado is tested when Costner takes over a grueling 18-week basic training course, where a 50% attrition rate ensures that only the best will make the grade. There's nothing particularly inventive about Ron L. Brinkerhoff's screenplay, but it's intelligently written and well-directed (by The Fugitive helmer Andrew Davis) as it shows how seasoned veteran and troubled but talented trainee build mutual respect while sorting through the trauma of accidents that left each of them as sole survivors, tormented by self-doubt and guilt.
Bolstered by a strong supporting cast including Neal McDonough, John Heard, Sela Ward and Clancy Brown, The Guardian is a bit on the long side (137 minutes), but it never feels slow, and a romantic subplot (with Kutcher wooing a schoolteacher played by Melissa Sagemiller) blends nicely with thrilling ocean-rescue sequences incorporating a seamless blend of CGI and footage shot in a 750,000-gallon water tank. Music fans will welcome the scene-stealing appearance of veteran singer Bonnie Bramlett as the owner of a jazz/blues club near the training base, where The Guardian serves up yet another staple of its genre: the barroom brawl. Although Hurricane Katrina prevented The Guardian from being filmed in New Orleans in 2005, real-life footage during the closing credits makes it clear that the Coast Guard was essential in Katrina's aftermath, and this rousing drama pays overdue tribute to those who risk there lives (to quote the Coast Guard's motto) "so that others may live." --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A ROUSING, THOUGH UNORIGINAL ACTION-ADVENTURE:
Though you've seen this formula concoction a myriad of times in various film genres, the acting is quite excellent, and the action pulse-pounding. I had assumed that Ashton Kutcher couldn't act before seeing this movie ( but he more than proved me wrong here ), and Costner definitely delivered the goods. The direction by Andrew Davis is crisp, and writer, Ron L. Brinkerhoff's dialogue is non-fatty, and on the mark. THE GUARDIAN is a long-overdue paen to the mostly unsung heroes of the Coast Guard Rescue... more info
Great depiction of what goes on behind the scenes of the Coast Guard...:
I watched this movie around March 2007 and I am likely going to watch it again because of the great dramatic water rescue scenes and the well performed acting by actors Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher (I have to say I am in love with Ashton Kutcher's acting and he did it again very well in this movie). The movie does a beyond terrific job showing what goes behind the scenes of the Coast Guard. It should make the people who serve on the US Coast Guard and Navy feel very good to have them potrayed in a... more info
Cliched but makes up for it with heart:
Andrew Davis' The Guardian is impossibly cliched, built from the blueprints of other great military academy movies (An Officer And A Gentleman, Top Gun, and so forth) and offering almost nothing new or original. Still, while straightforward and predictable, it's written, directed, and acted with genuine heart. Kevin Costner plays the aging warrior, Ashton Kutcher the headstrong apprentice, and their relationship forms the meat and potatoes of the film. Growing up, falling in love, and learning to fight as a... more info
watch for the rescue and training scenes:
The Guardian wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible either. It was pretty much a standard military movie, on the order of, say, Top Gun, or a dozen others. Every bit of plot was predictable, from the best friend dying at the beginning, to the cocky kid the instructor is extra tough on because he reminds him of himself, to the romance, right down to the ending. Kevin Costner plays a Coast Guard rescue swimmer whose wife left him, and his best friend died in a rescue gone bad, and when he gets out of the... more info
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