I regret to inform you that this review will not be opened by a disparaging remark about Kevin Costner's previous attempts at creating a cinematic masterpiece on the open sea. No Waterworld jokes here. Why have I decided to forgo the Costner insult? The Guardian doesn't suck. Not even a little.
Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) is the greatest rescue swimmer ever to serve in the United States Coast Guard. On the day that his wife (Sela Ward) leaves him, his entire crew dies in a horrific accident. Both leave him feeling deeply shaken and very guilty. In order to regain his confidence, he is sent to the USCG "A" School to train a new group of rescue swimmers. That is where Randall meets Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), a hotshot high school swim champ who's out to prove himself and break all of his teacher's records. Randall and Fischer butt heads on more than one occasion, but they ultimately bond over their similarly tragic pasts. After many montages of push-ups and swimming, the class graduates and receives their new postings. Fischer goes with Randall to his old base in Alaska, where the two become part of a new crew. Fischer has overcome his demons, but Randall's are still lurking, waiting to overwhelm him at the worst possible moment.
Though the plot is predictable, the film is so well-cast that it seems less than clichéd. Costner is believable as once-great man who is facing becoming obsolete. Initially tired and guilt-ridden, he regains his determination through the lessons he teaches others. Kutcher uses his considerable charm to make an otherwise irritating character into someone the audience can root for. Fischer's interactions with the other characters provide most of the film's occasional laughs, and Kutcher shows for the first time since The Butterfly Effect that he can do something other than act stupid and get hit in the face. Sela Ward is likeable as Randall's sad ex-wife, even though she is seen little in this film. The talented Dulé Hill is also in this movie, though, like Ward, he is criminally underused.
Director Andrew Davies (The Fugitive) creates an involving drama from the screenplay by Ron L. Brinkerhoff. Subplots about the tribulations of one of the trainees and the romance between Fischer and a local schoolteacher provide some levity throughout the serious business of training recruits. The film continually stresses the importance of the U.S. Coast Guard and the sacrifices they make to keep the public safe. The filmmakers occasionally switch to hand-held cameras in an attempt to depict just how intense the training for rescue swimmers can be, but it only serves as a distraction from the action on the screen. The rescue scenes are harrowing, if only because of the sheer amount of water that is throwing ships and people around. There is never any real question as to who is going to live or die.
At two hours and 15 minutes, The Guardian runs a bit too long, and the tacked-on ending neatly ties up a thread that could have just as well been left hanging. Like many others, I have wasted hours of my life on certain Kevin Costner movies. Luckily, The Guardian was not one of them.
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