The Guardian (2006)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Sophie B

  
  It was a long film but I felt they didn't really show anything. There was no strong story line here, just two characters who have been through bad times trying to come out of it. It was very predictable and I just did not care what happened to them. It was sad thinking of what… More
  It was a long film but I felt they didn't really show anything. There was no strong story line here, just two characters who have been through bad times trying to come out of it. It was very predictable and I just did not care what happened to them. It was sad thinking of what they had been through but there's not much here to care about.

• Al S

  
  A stirring, exciting, thrilling and exhilarating movie. A spectacular and edge of your seat action-packed drama. Great rescue/action sequences that are just plain gripping. It's a remarkable, riveting and satisfying film. Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner deliver powerful and… More
  A stirring, exciting, thrilling and exhilarating movie. A spectacular and edge of your seat action-packed drama. Great rescue/action sequences that are just plain gripping. It's a remarkable, riveting and satisfying film. Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner deliver powerful and awesome performances. Brilliant, sure-fire, high-octane entertainment. An amazing non-stop joyride. A pure explosive, pulse-pounding and relentlessly exciting thrill-machine. A truly great film. It's Top Gun for a new generation.

• Lenny M

  
  Andrew Davis was a solid director in the early 90's with Under Siege and The Fugitive, clearly doesn't have the steam or cream anymore. Would have been better with different lead actors. Can't stop thinking about Waterworld or Dances with Wolves when I look at… More
  Andrew Davis was a solid director in the early 90's with Under Siege and The Fugitive, clearly doesn't have the steam or cream anymore. Would have been better with different lead actors. Can't stop thinking about Waterworld or Dances with Wolves when I look at Costner, and Kutcher is fumblin' bumblin' biatch.

• Richard C

  
  B+

• Jeff "

  
  The Guardian is almost directly a exact copy of Ron Howard's film Backdraft, a lot of plot elements are similar. Including the end. This is a pointless film that had a lot going for it, but it failed to go beyond expectactions, and fell flat almost from the get go. Started off… More
  The Guardian is almost directly a exact copy of Ron Howard's film Backdraft, a lot of plot elements are similar. Including the end. This is a pointless film that had a lot going for it, but it failed to go beyond expectactions, and fell flat almost from the get go. Started off well enough, but it was apparent 45 minutes in, that the film was borrowing elements from previous drama flicks. Nothing new or original here, a pointless, poorly acted film that rellies on previous plots in other films to create a totally ''new'' story. The overall film was a waste of time, and the ending made this film worse. One of the worst films ever made for sure. A piece of trash that should've never been made in the first place.

• Chris W

  
  Even though this movie exceeded my expectations, I'm going to start with the gripes first. This movie is unoriginal, derivative, and filled with cliches. It pretty much combines Top Gun with An Officer and a Gentleman, and makes it about the Coast Guard, or at least a special… More
  Even though this movie exceeded my expectations, I'm going to start with the gripes first. This movie is unoriginal, derivative, and filled with cliches. It pretty much combines Top Gun with An Officer and a Gentleman, and makes it about the Coast Guard, or at least a special branch of the Coast Guard. The basic plot outline, characterizations, and training montages are all things that have been seen countless times before. The film is also pretty long, too long in fact. 2 hours and 18 minutes could have easilt been whittled down to about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The flow could have been much better, and the film would not have dragged as much in some places. Now the good stuff. Making this about the Coast Guard is an inspired choice. They never seem to get the lvoe they deserve, cinematically and otherwise. This made an interesting topic for a movie, too bad the story built around the concept was something I already covered above. I liked the acting too. The cast is good, filled with lots of familiar names and faces, including well-known people, as well as tons of "that guys". The performances are pretty good, given the material. Each actors gives exactly what is required of them, and they don't half ass it. Call me a softie, but I actually liked the big revelation scene between Costner and Kutcher, where the audience is provided with some character depth and backstory, making the chacters truly people to care about. I really liked the camera work. Lots of nice outdoor stuff, and I noticed several different types of cameras used during some of the montages. ABout those montages- yeah, they are cliched and all of that, but they are done with such energy, that I didn't mind putting my brain on hold and just having fun with it. Having been a lifeguard, I can sort of relate to this movie, since what is depicted in this movie is like what I did, but on steroids, and a million times harder and more stressful. I think what I liked the most though, were the action sewuences. I thought they were well done and the fact that the practical effects and the CGI blended seamlessly makes them even better. This movie pretty much delivers what you'd expect from the trailer, and, despite its flaws, it gets a mild pass from me. The way I see it, these types of movies are okay, and necessary to have in small doses. Not everything can be a masterpiece. If every film was, life would be boring, and who wants that?

• KJ P

  
  Loved it! The acting, story, and visuals are all impressive! I give major props to the Guardian!

• Bruce B

  
  Finally a Movie that shows the life of a Rescue Swimmer in The United States Coast Guard, Many a Watermen?s Un-thanked Hero. Kevin Costner plays an excellent part as a master Chief, and Brain Geraghty plays the new Student / Swimmer coming up with something to prove. Don't enter… More
  Finally a Movie that shows the life of a Rescue Swimmer in The United States Coast Guard, Many a Watermen?s Un-thanked Hero. Kevin Costner plays an excellent part as a master Chief, and Brain Geraghty plays the new Student / Swimmer coming up with something to prove. Don't enter into this movie thinking its going to be like Top Gun, far From it. If you have a family member in the Coast Guard or One who is a SAR Rescue Swimmer in the Navy, You need to see this. 4 1/2 Stars.

• Jason O

  
  One of my favorite movies of the decade. I've always been a fan of Kevin Costner's movies and this one's probably my favorite of his. I've always said that the only branch of the military I've ever pondered joining is the Coast Guard, and rescue swimmer was… More
  One of my favorite movies of the decade. I've always been a fan of Kevin Costner's movies and this one's probably my favorite of his. I've always said that the only branch of the military I've ever pondered joining is the Coast Guard, and rescue swimmer was always interesting to me, so I was bound to like this movie beforehand. But I didn't know I'd like it as much as I did! Kutcher is a rescue swimmer hopeful who's even more gifted of a swimmer than the teacher (Costner), who holds all the swimming records, but Kutcher is also young and immature - does he have what it takes, and what will the soon to be retiring Costner think of his new teaching job and this brash youngster? Excellent movie with notable drama and action that I'll never forget.

• Jens S

  
  This movie wants to be for the Coast Guard what "Top Gun" was for the Air Force or "Ladder 49" for firemen. And that pretty much works, even though their training is portrayed as quite tedious and damn hard work. The initial action scenes are well filmed and… More
  This movie wants to be for the Coast Guard what "Top Gun" was for the Air Force or "Ladder 49" for firemen. And that pretty much works, even though their training is portrayed as quite tedious and damn hard work. The initial action scenes are well filmed and exciting, then the training program takes over and does cause a few rather slow moments and several old stereotypes of most military films (tough guys, bar brawl bonding, the talented rookie, etc.). The film still managed to remain entertaining, because the acting is decent and everything is well done. Sadly, the showdown is horribly predictable in its melodramatic result and too much like other solutions already seen in the genre. Although the mystic element seems out of place it does add an interesting note after all. Not bad for a rainy afternoon, no more, no less.

• Flutie A

  
  There are parts of this movie are great, but I demoted it a star because it bogged down at the end. Still...if it's ever in the 3 or 4$ bargain bin, I'll definitely add it to the collection. Worth a look, especially if you liked Top Gun....

• Alexander W

  
  Great film, the same day I saw a coastguard helicopter fly past my bedroom window. Kinda relevant I think so

• Craig S

  
  <b><u>Directed by:</u> Andrew Davis.</b> <b><u>Starring:</u> Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Costner, Clancy Brown, Melissa Sagemiller, Neal McDonough.</b> I really don't know what to say about this film. I saw it when it came into theaters… More
  <b><u>Directed by:</u> Andrew Davis.</b> <b><u>Starring:</u> Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Costner, Clancy Brown, Melissa Sagemiller, Neal McDonough.</b> I really don't know what to say about this film. I saw it when it came into theaters last year and thought I'd finally write a review for it. Now to start off, the first 20 minutes were slow, it didn't really achieve anything and didn't really see the point in it, but then it kicked in when the training began. For the next 45 minutes or so, I thought the film was really good, it had some sharp humour from Kevin Costners character, who I thought was great in his role, Ashton Kutcher was....a bit better, he still tries to be a dramatic actor, but he is not quite there yet, once he finds himself in a dramatic role, instead of copying other dramatic actors, he might be good. I was highly entertained by the training part of the film, it was beautifully shot and very engrossing, but then in the final 20 minutes of so of the film, it went WAY downhill. It found all these cliches out of nowhere and blatantly stuck them right in your face and I sat in the theater shocked, I couldn't believe what I was seeing....how could a pretty damn good film suddenly sink so low into cliche, that it completely ruins the entire film with that ending? I walked out very unpleased. A disappointment.

• Lorenzo v

  
  So, the plot is basically about the US Coast Guard. After a traumatic event that changed Ben Randall's (Kevin Costner) life, he decided to lay low for a while and decided to teach aspiring Coast Guards. One of his student is Jake "Goldfish" Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), a… More
  So, the plot is basically about the US Coast Guard. After a traumatic event that changed Ben Randall's (Kevin Costner) life, he decided to lay low for a while and decided to teach aspiring Coast Guards. One of his student is Jake "Goldfish" Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), a motivated rescue swimmer who has a mysterious past. The film mostly focuses on Jake's team and their struggles and sacrifices to graduate into a fully developed Rescue Swimmer. And it also tackles some people's mysterious pasts and secrets. Great acting by Kevin Costner. He portrayed Ben Randall really well. Ashton Kutcher takes the cake on this one. All I know about this guy is that he's the dude who Punk'd celebrities and the guy from 'Dude, Where's my Car?'. But I was surprised that he's doing serious drama roles now. And he's doing pretty good. A great drama film of 2006. 4/5.

• Dean !

  
  Cool film with the master teaching the new rookie type plot. It was very enjoyable with some good action scenes and sfx!

• Bobby H

  
  Im not a fan of Ashtons acting to be honest, and more so, it being a serious movie, I thought this movie would blow. Turns out, the more the story unfolded the more I liked it, and by the time the end of the movie came it easily became probably one of my top five movies. If you havent… More
  Im not a fan of Ashtons acting to be honest, and more so, it being a serious movie, I thought this movie would blow. Turns out, the more the story unfolded the more I liked it, and by the time the end of the movie came it easily became probably one of my top five movies. If you havent seen it, you NEED too.

• Aliyanto L

  
  Too long and predictable but really make me wanna swim again!

• Dean M

  
  Excellent emotional and action-packed drama about the elite Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers between a teacher and student that is familiar to <i>An Officer and a Gentleman</i>.

• Jason S

  
  This one was pretty good but it followed a much used formula.

• Rico Z

  
  Kevin Costner's career should've ended about 10 years ago when he released Waterworld. Unfortunately it did not, but it's also sad to think that if it had ended, he never would've made The Guardian-- a surprisingly good movie with a decent story and acting from… More
  Kevin Costner's career should've ended about 10 years ago when he released Waterworld. Unfortunately it did not, but it's also sad to think that if it had ended, he never would've made The Guardian-- a surprisingly good movie with a decent story and acting from himself and Ashton Kutcher. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Costner, but I feel his characters are always a bit over-the-top, cocky and rather bland and annoying. Those characteristics pretty much apply to this movie too, but in this movie, that's what his character is supposed to be. Overall, the movie explored some cool themes about camiradery and friendship and the ties that bind, etc. It delved into the bonds that last a lifetime and inspire us to do what we do and keep plugging away-- even in the face of adversity and hardship. A few more cliché's would've made this film unbearable, but I was in a very forgiving mood when I saw this movie. You should be too-- otherwise you might be prone to hating it and cursing me for recommending it.

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