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:

One of the students was Mark Gangloff, an Olympic swimmer who won gold in Athens.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: 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.

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:

Saturday Night

Overall good movie but has some weak points

I was fortunate enough to see this movie on pre-release last night and, though I wasn't expecting to, actually really enjoyed the movie for the most part. The rescues and sea effects were amazing to watch and definitely provided edge of the seat tense moments, probably all the more so knowing that there are guys who do this for a living. The weaker parts of the movie revolve largely around using stereotypical set scenes. I'm not going to spoil the movie but this really follows along the lines of An Officer and a Gentleman and those moments give it a little bit of a cheesy aftertaste.

Like I said over all this movie is pretty good and worth checking out as long as you can get past the clichés.