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:

How Do You Decide Who Lives Or Who Dies?

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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

Following the series of hurricanes in the southern United States in 2005, production moved to Shreveport, Louisiana.

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Goofs

The "Squid Bar" Hodges and Fisch go to is filled with Sailors in the utility uniforms, along with various officers and chiefs. Sailors are not allowed to drink in the utility uniform or even go into a bar.

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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

References Speed (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Home To Houston"
Written and Performed by Steve Earle
Courtesy of Artemis Records

User Reviews

Much More Than I Expected

I work at a movie theater and every Thursday night we have an employee screening of one movie that comes out the next day...Today it was The Guardian. I saw the trailers and the ads and never expected much from it, and in no way really did i anticipate seeing this movie. Well turns out this movie was a lot more than I would have thought. It was a great story first of all. Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner did amazing acting work in this film. Being a big fan of That 70's Show I always found it hard thinking of Kutcher as anyone but Kelso despite the great acting he did in The Butterfly Effect, but after seeing this movie I think I might be able to finally look at him as a serious actor.

It was also a great tribute to the unsung heroes of the U.S. Coast Guard.