... and yet, altogether watchable. Big-shot legendary rescuer Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) loses his whole crew out at sea in a rescue mission gone wrong, as well as his marriage, and is instructed to take a "time-out" to teach at a prestigious coast guard school. He trains "the best of the best, of the best, sir..." and one of his students is Jake (Ashton Kutcher) is a cocky whippersnapper fresh out of high school with swimming medals by the bucketload, more interested in setting records than in saving lives.
Predictably, "The Guardian" serves heartfelt American morals and messages en masse in building a bond between the mentor and his rookie student. Kevin Costner is a readily-molded veteran hero, passably virile for the role and effortless in his leading quality. Ashton Kutcher is at least not notably bad in his acting efforts, especially when the grueling coast guard training sessions demand our attention and sympathy for his character. As ever in army films, a kind of Top Gun homoeroticism is hilariously displayed throughout.
Curiously enough, in spite of its paint-by-numbers army set-up and parallel Wolfgang Peterson-esquire sea actioneer approach, the film elicits surprising attention, even in the bloated "I have high hopes for you" speeches by Mr. Costner. Perhaps this stems from its grounded relations basis; there is undeniably a lot of deeply-rooted character problems below the surface both in Ben and Jake's pasts. In the former case, his devotion to the guard is almost self-destructive, which aptly translates in his unconventionally harsh teaching methods ("Tread water for an hour, or go home"). In the latter's case, his adolescence is plagued by a traumatizing event.
"The Guardian" is ultimately a film with technicalities and formalities so dutifully sketched out from opening to closing credits that a computer could code for the same film had it been programmed to do so. You will probably be able to anticipate every up and down of the journey, and even the rare comical moments sings notes I have heard before, even toward the end with the cheesy credit note nodding to Hurricane Katrina, cementing it as an extended advertisement for the National Coast Guard. But with bouts of well-special-effected action at sea, "The Guardian" remains a fully passable film.
6 out of 10
Predictably, "The Guardian" serves heartfelt American morals and messages en masse in building a bond between the mentor and his rookie student. Kevin Costner is a readily-molded veteran hero, passably virile for the role and effortless in his leading quality. Ashton Kutcher is at least not notably bad in his acting efforts, especially when the grueling coast guard training sessions demand our attention and sympathy for his character. As ever in army films, a kind of Top Gun homoeroticism is hilariously displayed throughout.
Curiously enough, in spite of its paint-by-numbers army set-up and parallel Wolfgang Peterson-esquire sea actioneer approach, the film elicits surprising attention, even in the bloated "I have high hopes for you" speeches by Mr. Costner. Perhaps this stems from its grounded relations basis; there is undeniably a lot of deeply-rooted character problems below the surface both in Ben and Jake's pasts. In the former case, his devotion to the guard is almost self-destructive, which aptly translates in his unconventionally harsh teaching methods ("Tread water for an hour, or go home"). In the latter's case, his adolescence is plagued by a traumatizing event.
"The Guardian" is ultimately a film with technicalities and formalities so dutifully sketched out from opening to closing credits that a computer could code for the same film had it been programmed to do so. You will probably be able to anticipate every up and down of the journey, and even the rare comical moments sings notes I have heard before, even toward the end with the cheesy credit note nodding to Hurricane Katrina, cementing it as an extended advertisement for the National Coast Guard. But with bouts of well-special-effected action at sea, "The Guardian" remains a fully passable film.
6 out of 10