The Guardian

If Flyboys was Top Gun with biplanes and trench warfare, then The Guardian is Top Gun with diving gear and big waves. Once again, a cocky young hotshot joins a military academy—in this case, a training school for the U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers—and once again, the eager young braggart learns more than he expected, as he butts heads with his teachers and experiences a tragedy or two, all of which turn him into a better, more mature, more professional kind of person.

However, unlike some films in this genre, The Guardian is just as interested in the teachers as it is in the students—at least where Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) is concerned. Ordinarily, Randall would be out at sea saving lives, not coaching a bunch of trainees; he is a hero among rescue swimmers, a legend who has saved countless people. But his very dedication to his job drives a wedge between Randall and his wife (Sela Ward), and so one day he comes home to find that she is leaving him. And then he loses his best friend, and several others, in a tragic accident at sea. So his commanding officer (Clancy Brown) reassigns him to the school, hoping that time away from the emergency calls will give him a chance to deal with his losses.

Ashton Kutcher as hotshot Jake Fischer

And that's where Randall meets the aptly-named Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), the former high-school swimming champ who, not realizing that Randall is one of his teachers, makes a point of introducing himself to the school by announcing that he's going to break Randall's records. And so begins a battle of wills between the two men, as Randall pushes Fischer and his classmates to their limits, while Fischer does all he can to show that he can meet and surpass Randall's expectations—at least when it comes to swimming fast, holding his breath underwater, and so on.

More important than the physical training, of course, are the Valuable Life Lessons that Fischer picks up along the way. After making a bet with his fellow trainees, Fischer walks up to a woman (Melissa Sagemiller) at a bar and introduces himself to her, and while their relationship begins on an officially "casual" note—sex and nothing else—it begins to show signs of something more serious; they even consider going out on a date. Meanwhile, Randall digs into Fischer's background to try to see what motivates him, and he tries to advise Fischer on how to work within a team, and on how to cope with the inevitable failures that will be part of his job.

Kevin Costner as legendary rescuer Ben Randall

The film hews closely to the conventions of this genre, though at times you can feel that director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) and writer Ron L. Brinkerhoff (D-Tox), wanted it to go just a bit beyond the formula. On some levels, they are successful. The supporting cast is especially good, and it is fun to watch the camaraderie between Randall and the other "mature" people—including Neal McDonough as one of the more intense instructors, John Heard as the head of the school, and Bonnie Bramlett as a blues singer—while Fischer gradually comes to a better, deeper understanding of his classmates in general and of Randall in particular. (And just as Fischer becomes more serious as a rescue swimmer, so Kutcher, normally associated with dumb comedies like Dude, Where's My Car?, proves he can handle drama.)

Emily (Melissa Sagemiller) has her eyes on Jake

On other levels, however, the film doesn't quite realize its ambitions. The film is book-ended by references to a legendary guardian in the water who acts as "a fisher of men, a last hope for all those who have been left behind"—but this fleeting hint of fantasy doesn't really fit with the movie's more down-to-earth sensibility. And the film as a whole is just plain too long. About an hour and a half into it, I began to wonder how it would end; obviously it wouldn't be enough just to show the trainees picking up their certificates on graduation day. But about two hours into it, I began to wonder when it would end; it just keeps on going, and keeps on finding subplots in need of resolution. Multiple endings were forgivable in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, because it was part of a trilogy and there were over ten hours of story to wrap up; but a simple one-off like this needs to be a little tighter, especially when so much of what we see feels like it was copied from some other movie.

Talk About It

1. What sort of teacher is Ben Randall? Does his experience—including his losses—make him a better teacher, or a worse teacher? What about his trip to the Navy bar with Fischer—does it fit with the other lessons he teaches Fischer, and if so, how
2. Is Fischer's bravado good or bad? When does ambition become arrogance? How can we be humble about our talents while embracing them as God's gifts
3. Is it fitting to call these rescue swimmers "fishers of men"? How do they resemble what Christ had in mind when he called his disciples? How do they differ?

The Family Corner

The Guardian is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action/peril (mostly involving sometimes-fatal rescue missions in stormy seas), brief strong language (a couple four-letter words and an in-vain reference to Jesus) and some sensuality (two characters embark on a sexual relationship, but nothing is shown).

Photos © Copyright Touchstone Pictures

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What Other Critics Are Saying

The Guardian wins some praise thanks to the powerful direction of Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, Holes), and action scenes that leave the audience breathless. Kevin Costner is also earning applause—more praise than his co-star, Ashton Kutcher—for his performance as a veteran Coast Guard officer.

Bob Hoose (Plugged In) says that "[c]hest-thumping hoo-rah moments, partially undressed romance, a smattering of foul language and a beer-tipping bar brawl" will ensure that moviegoing families are uncomfortable with this picture. "And that's too bad. Because The Guardian also embraces something we haven't seen in a while. It's a movie about sacrifice."

Christa Banister (Crosswalk) says, "Sure, The Guardian has some cheesy dialogue and a touchy-feely core, but the well-executed action sequences more than make up for its inadequacies. Or even Ashton Kutcher's wooden dramatic acting for that matter."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) says, "Despite playing at times like a commercial for the Coast Guard, the formulaic film is kept afloat by appealing performances, exciting rescue sequences and an admirable theme about sacrificing one's life to save others."

Mainstream critics have mixed reviews, most finding it too formulaic, but many admitting they were more impressed than they expected to be.