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IMDbPro

The Guardian

  • 20062006
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 19m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
93K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,339
444
Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)
Trailer for The Guardian
Play trailer2:32
16 Videos
83 Photos
ActionAdventureDrama
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 ... Read allA 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.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.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
93K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,339
444
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Andrew Davis
    • Writer
      • Ron L. Brinkerhoff
    • Stars
      • Kevin Costner
      • Ashton Kutcher
      • Sela Ward
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Andrew Davis
    • Writer
      • Ron L. Brinkerhoff
    • Stars
      • Kevin Costner
      • Ashton Kutcher
      • Sela Ward
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 315User reviews
    • 131Critic reviews
    • 53Metascore
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 4 nominations

    Videos16

    The Guardian
    Trailer 2:32
    The Guardian
    The Guardian
    Trailer 2:29
    The Guardian
    The Guardian (2006)
    Clip 0:48
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    Photos83

    Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)
    Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)
    Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)
    Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)
    Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)
    Kevin Costner in The Guardian (2006)
    Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)
    Kevin Costner and Omari Hardwick in The Guardian (2006)
    Ashton Kutcher and Melissa Sagemiller in The Guardian (2006)
    Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)
    Kevin Costner in The Guardian (2006)
    Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian (2006)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kevin Costner
    Kevin Costner
    • Ben Randall
    Ashton Kutcher
    Ashton Kutcher
    • Jake Fischer
    Sela Ward
    Sela Ward
    • Helen Randall
    Melissa Sagemiller
    Melissa Sagemiller
    • Emily Thomas
    Clancy Brown
    Clancy Brown
    • Capt. William Hadley
    Omari Hardwick
    Omari Hardwick
    • Carl Billings
    Alex Daniels
    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
    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
    Stephanie Barnes
    • Doctor #2
    Andrea Martynowski
    • Ops Commander
    • (as CPO Andrea Martynowski USCG)
    Ron Fien
    • Wickham
    • (as Lt. Ron Fien USCG)
    • Director
      • Andrew Davis
    • Writer
      • Ron L. Brinkerhoff
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The opening story of the helo rescue gone bad was loosely based on a real event that occurred August 7, 1981. The crew of CG1471 from Airsta Kodiak was responding to a distress call of a fishing vessel near Prince William Sound. As the crew attempted to hoist the survivors of the boat, a wave hit the tail of CG1471 causing the helo to crash into the seas. A painting named "So Others May Live" hangs on CG Airsta Kodiak depicting the rescue.
    • Goofs
      (at around 1h 12 mins) 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.
    • Quotes

      Ben Randall: Ya know, there never was anyone else Mag's.

      Maggie McGlone: Like hell, Ben, you're a bigamist. You've been married to the coast guard all along. Now gimme that shoulder. Prolly swum it out of socket tryin to prove you was still nineteen.

      Ben Randall: When the heck did we get old?

      Maggie McGlone: Hell, I've always been old Ben. Ya' know what though, I don't mind. I mean if my muscles ache, it's because I've used 'em. It's hard for me to walk up them steps now, its 'cuz I walked up 'em every night to lay next to a man who loved me. I got a few wrinkles here and there, but I've layed under thousands of skies with sunny days. I look and feel this way, well cuz I drank and I smoked. I lived and I loved, danced, sang, sweat and screwed my way thorough a pretty damn good life if you ask me. Getting old ain't bad Ben. Getting old, that's earned.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Departed/Open Season/The Guardian/The Last King of Scotland/The Queen/School for Scoundrels/Beerleague (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Saturday Night
      Written by Willy Abers, Raul Pacheco, Justin Poree, Asdru Sierra (as Asdru Sierra),

      Jiro Yamaguchi, Ulises Bella and J. Smith-Freedman

      Performed by Ozomatli

      Courtesy of Concord Music Group, Inc.

    User reviews315

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Interesting look at an under-appreciated group of heroes
    I was looking forward to The Guardian, but when I walked into the theater I wasn't really in the mood for it at that particular time. It's kind of like the Olive Garden - I like it, but I have to be in the right mindset to thoroughly enjoy it.

    I'm not exactly sure what was dampening my spirit. The trailers looked good, but the water theme was giving me bad flashbacks to the last Kevin Costner movie that dealt with the subject - Waterworld. Plus, despite the promise Ashton Kutcher showed in The Butterfly Effect, I'm still not completely sold on him. Something about the guy just annoys me. Probably has to do with his simian features.

    It took approximately two minutes for my fears to subside and for my hesitancies to slip away. The movie immediately throws us into the midst of a tense rescue mission, and I was gripped tighter than Kenny Rogers' orange face lift. My concerns briefly bristled at Kutcher's initial appearance due to the fact that too much effort was made to paint him as ridiculously cool and rebellious. Sunglasses, a tough guy toothpick in his mouth, and sportin' a smirk that'd make George Clooney proud? Yeah, we get it. I was totally ready to hate him.

    But then he had to go and deliver a fairly strong performance and force me to soften my jabs.

    Darn you, ape man! Efficiently mixing tense, exciting rescue scenes, drama, humor, and solid acting, The Guardian is easily a film that I dare say the majority of audiences will enjoy. You can quibble about its clichés, predictability, and rare moments of overcooked sappiness, but none of that takes away from the entertainment value.

    I had a bad feeling that the pace would slow too much when Costner started training the young guys, but on the contrary, the training sessions just might be the most interesting aspect of the film. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers are heroes whose stories have never really been portrayed on the big screen, so I feel the inside look at what they go through and how tough it is to make it is very informative and a great way to introduce audiences to this under-appreciated group.

    Do you have what it takes to be a rescue swimmer? Just think about it -you get to go on dangerous missions in cold, dark, rough water, and then you must fight disorientation, exhaustion, hypothermia, and a lack of oxygen all while trying to help stranded, panicked people who are depending on you for their survival. And if all that isn't bad enough, sometimes you can't save everybody so you have to make the tough decision of who lives and who dies.

    Man, who wants all that responsibility? Not me! I had no idea what it was really like for these guys, and who would have thought I'd have an Ashton Kutcher/Kevin Costner movie to thank for the education?

    Not only does The Guardian do a great job of paying tribute to this rare breed of hero, but lucky for us it also does a good job of entertaining its paying customers.

    THE GIST

    Moviegoers wanting an inside look at what it's like to embark on a daring rescue mission in the middle of the ocean might want to give The Guardian a chance. I saw it for free, but had I paid I would've felt I had gotten my money's worth.
    helpful•88
    21
    • TheMovieMark
    • Sep 29, 2006

    FAQ2

    • Is the training in the movie the same of that in real life?
    • Did Ben Randall survive?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 29, 2006 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Thiên Sứ Biển Xanh
    • Filming locations
      • Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA
    • Production companies
      • Touchstone Pictures
      • Beacon Pictures
      • Contrafilm
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $70,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $55,011,732
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $18,006,064
      • Oct 1, 2006
    • Gross worldwide
      • $94,973,540
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 19 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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