The Guardian (2006/I)

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:

Cocky | Military | Bar Scene | Coast Guard | Navy

Awards:

1 win & 3 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:

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

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Company:

Beacon Pictures

Trivia:

The production company hired local contractors to build a massive indoor wave pool for production.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Randall (Kevin Costner) is stepping out of the "hypothermia pool" to speak with the other training officers, the camera briefly cuts back to Fischer inside the pool. Look quickly and you will see that the person in the foreground (in front of Fischer) is Kevin Costner - even though his character is supposed to be climbing out of the pool, and is standing outside of the pool when the camera cuts back again.

Quotes:

Maggie McGlone: If my muscles hurt, it just means I've used them. If it hurts to walk up the stairs, it's just cause I've done it a hundred times to lay down next to a man who loved me. My face may have wrinkles, but I have laid under hundreds of skies on sunny days. I look like this, well, because I drank and I smoked and I lived and I loved and I screwed my way through a pretty damn good life. Getting old isn't bad. It's earned.

Movie Connections:

References Cujo (1983)

Soundtrack:

Love and Happiness

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!