The Guardian (2006/I)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writer (WGA):

Ron L. Brinkerhoff (written by)

Release Date:

29 September 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

When lives are on the line, sacrifice everything.

Plot:

A high school swim champion with a troubled past enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's "A" School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall teaches him some hard lessons about loss, love, and self-sacrifice.

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | Coast Guard | Training | Team | Instructor

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Kevin Costner	...	Ben Randall
Ashton Kutcher	...	Jake Fischer
Sela Ward	...	Helen Randall
Melissa Sagemiller	...	Emily Thomas
Clancy Brown	...	Capt. William Hadley
Omari Hardwick	...	Carl Billings
Alex Daniels	...	Wild Bill
Daniel J. Molthen	...	Co-Pilot Wakefield (as Lcdr. Daniel J. Molthen USCG)
Andrew Schanno	...	Pilot Mitchell (as Lt. Andrew Schanno USCG)
Adam Pena	...	Benjamin Reyes
Joe Arquette	...	Co-Pilot Antunez
Gary Billburg	...	Julian Zankich (as PO1 Gary Billburg USCG)
Joshua Mitcheltree	...	Mitcheltree (as PO2 Joshua Mitcheltree USCG)
Rusty Tennant	...	Mover #1
James Barnes	...	Doctor #1

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Malaysia:U | Brazil:12 | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:12A (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41893) | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:M | Sweden:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Company:

Beacon Pictures

Trivia:

The movie uses clips of real incidents supplied to Walt Disney by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency during the training sequences in scenes at the training school.

Goofs:

Continuity: The entire area is blanketed in snow when Fisch and Randall arrive at Kodiak, but in the cave rescue scene there is no snow anywhere on the cliffs or on the bluff above the cave. That is because the scene was filmed near Cape Disappointment, Washington, not Alaska.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Capt. William Hadley: There is a legend of a man who lives beneath the sea. He is a fisher of men, the last hope of all those who have been left behind. Many survivors claim to have felt his gripping hands beneath them; pushing them up to the surface; whispering strength until help could arrive. But this, of course, is only a legend.

Movie Connections:

References Speed (1994/I)

Soundtrack:

Seven Year Itch

Costner's Comeback

I went to an advance screening of this movie thinking I was about to embark on 120 minutes of cheezy lines, mindless plot, and the kind of nauseous acting that made "The Postman" one of the most malignant displays of cinematic blundering of our time. But I was shocked. Shocked to find a film starring Costner that appealed to the soul of the audience. Shocked that Ashton Kutcher could act in such a serious role. Shocked that a film starring both actually engaged and captured my own emotions. Not since 'Robin Hood' have I seen this Costner: full of depth and complex emotion. Kutcher seems to have tweaked the serious acting he played with in "Butterfly Effect". These two actors came into this film with a serious, focused attitude that shone through in what I thought was one of the best films I've seen this year. No, its not an Oscar worthy movie. It's not an epic, or a profound social commentary film. Rather, its a story about a simple topic, illuminated in a way that brings that audience to a higher level of empathy than thought possible. That's what I think good film-making is and I for one am throughly impressed by this work. Bravo!