SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Prismark10 There is nothing too much original about The Guardian. It is a tale of veteran coast guard Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) who after a tragic rescue operation and a troubled marriage is assigned to train new recruits at coast guard training school.He meets cocky Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) a swimming champion who has joined the coast guard training and who starts a casual relationship with another teacher while in training.At first Ben and Jake do not get along but gradually come to respect each other especially as Jake opens up about his past.The film is just too formulaic, you have seen elements of it in films like Top Gun or Backdraft. Director Andrew Davis excels in the coast guard rescue scenes but too much of the film is choppy.

Robert Thompson (justbob1982) Version I saw: UK DVD releaseActors: 6/10Plot/script: 5/10Photography/visual style: 6/10Music/score: 5/10Overall: 6/10You can imagine the production meeting. Costner and Kutcher were middle-sized names, with their own followings, so it seemed reasonable to put them together in a middle-budget film. Costner has moved on from action heroes and romantic leads to grizzled military types and father figures, and Ashton makes an effective cocky young recruit who will grow under his tutelage. Throw in the idea of shining the spotlight on a less glamorous area of the military, and the rest pretty much writes itself. Basically, it's An Officer and a Gentleman with helicopter sea rescuers instead of air force pilots. It's really that blatant.Presumably that is why they gave it to comparative screen writing novice Ron L Brinkerhoff, and he does a decent job of putting tab A into slot B, adding in some (I assume) well-researched details that enhance the Coastguard training academy scenes, and finessing some of the character interactions with a bit of extra metaphor and frisson. The whole thing plays to a moderately right-wing middle-American patriotic audience, with a soundtrack comprising mostly pop and country music.Both of the leads are accomplished but not inspired. Costner has the experience and charisma to come across as likable even while playing the unnecessarily cruel, hard taskmaster, and Kutcher does better as the cocky douchebag than the sensitive hero, but he stops well short of disgracing himself.The director is a safe bet. Andrew Davis is probably best known for action thrillers Under Siege and The Fugitive. He brings his skill with those action set-pieces to the couple of (presumably quite expensive) helicopter rescue scenes, generating a really visceral sense of the danger and discomfort. He can also be trusted to not make a mess of the character interaction dialogue scenes.I found the whole reasonably diverting, if rather forgettable. One to watch when you are feeling a bit fragile, and not in the mood for anything at all challenging.

Matthew McNaughton It's rare for a movie to actually make me feel good, but damn did this one. Kutcher is a staple in comedy, but he's just as good in serious roles (see: "Butterfly Effect"). He and Costner were an excellent pair, working together and against one another at the same time it seemed. Kutcher's classmates were also great, especially Hodge and Lindsey. I recognized Clancy Brown from "The Shawshank Redemption" but I think I prefer this character more.I believe that "A" School is difficult, but seeing it in the movie did help a little. I love movies that are based on real groups, like "Act of Valor" and "G.I. Jane", but what set this apart was the connection between Costner and Kutcher. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to see what the Coast Guard goes though on a weekly basis.

thirteeninchwinch The first three quarters of the film were gripping, focusing on tough training, tension filled relationships, and a bit of romance. Then the last quarter focuses on actual coast guard rescues, which feels like it has been wrenched in to contrive a dramatic ending. From a realistic and tough training programme, we're suddenly fed some hokum about a magical guardian ghost who's saving people? Forget about it. I would have equally disliked the final scene having Costner and Kutcher escape safely though, because the film should have ended before that point. I largely forgive all this though, as overall the story is treated well enough.