The Guardian (I) (2006)

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.

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writer:

Ron L. Brinkerhoff

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Sela Ward

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Ben Randall is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. When his crew is killed in an accident and his marriage ends, his commander tells him he wants Randall to go to the Academy to train other rescue swimmers. He encounters a guy named Jake who's a little cocky because he was once a swim champion. So Ben puts him through the wringer to see if he can handle it.

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Plot Keywords:

rescue | coast guard | team | training | instructor | 

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Taglines:

Risk Everything

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

BV Entertainment [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Guardianes de altamar

Filming Locations:

Alaska, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$594,216 (Australia) (1 December 2006)

Gross:

$54,983,983 (USA) (29 December 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Beacon Pictures, Contrafilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of the movie was filmed in the pool at Louisianna State University of Shreveport, and the local Olympic Weightlifting club was forced to train outside of the building during filming because their location across the hall made too much noise when athletes dropped the weights.

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Goofs

During training, as the CG instructor talks about Katrina, you can see the camera trolley apparatus in the bottom of the screen, as the camera pans through the hangar.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Worst of '90 (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Ain't No Easy Way"
Written by Peter Hayes and Robert Turner (as Robert Been)
Performed by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Courtesy of The Echo Label and RCA Music Group, a unit of Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Decent flick

As others that have commented around the web... I'm a 130 pilot in the Coast Guard. Having said that, and being the skeptic I am, I went expecting the over-the-top cheese factors. There was some cheese, but all in all, not much.. and the film was pretty accurate.

I watched the trailer again today. After seeing the film yesterday, I've realized the trailer gives the impression the movie is nothing but rescue after rescue action scenes. This isn't the case.

The movie is truly more character/story driven than action. The inner struggles both Costner and Kutcher are dealing with.. Kutcher's is revealed further into than movie than Costner's is.

Of course, there is a minor love story.. no surprise there. But for the most part, the movie tells the tale of two lives that come together, and after some time, help each other heal old wounds.

As girlie as it sounds, Costner and, as much as I try not to like him, Kutcher do actually work quite well together and compliment each other very well in the movie.

As critics have stated, you've seen it all before.. Top Gun, Officer and a Gentlemen, etc. But what movie hasn't been remade a million times.

I can recall only one F word being spoken.. and can't really recall any other language.

The movie is 2+ hours, and for some, may tend to get a little long towards the end.

You'll laugh, you may cry, but I can honestly say, it was worth the $4 I paid.

I hope you enjoy the movie.