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The Guardian

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The Guardian (2006)

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Reviews Counted: 141

Fresh: 52

Rotten:89

Average Rating: 5.2/10

Consensus: The Coast Guard gets its chance for a heroic movie tribute, but The Guardian does it no justice, borrowing cliche after cliche from other (and better) military branch movies.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for intense sequences of action/peril, brief strong language and some sensuality

Runtime: 2 hrs 19 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:2006-Fall

Box Office: $54,983,983

Synopsis: Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher team up in this torch-passing tale of the brave men and women in the Navy Coastguard elite rescue diver unit. A catastrophic rescue mission leaves him wounded after... Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher team up in this torch-passing tale of the brave men and women in the Navy Coastguard elite rescue diver unit. A catastrophic rescue mission leaves him wounded after his wife (Sela Ward) walks out on him, so heavily decorated, reluctantly aging rescue diver Ben Randall (Costner) takes some leave from the ocean to assume instructor duties down at the naval training base. There his humorless pedagogy rubs a lot of trainees the wrong way, but a champion high-school swimmer, Jake (Kucher), has no problem keeping up, and it looks like old Ben may have found someone worthy to be his replacement. But first each man has to wrestle with his own personal demons...and each other. Under the no-nonsense direction of Andrew Davis (THE FUGITIVE, UNDER SIEGE), the visceral energy flows nonstop through this familiar but nonetheless riveting affair. Shot in a flat, matter-of-fact manner, the harshness of naval academy life is celebrated without being glamorized, while the rescues at sea are nothing short of hair-raising, making excellent use of CGI effects to plunge the viewer right into the towering waves and storms along with the divers. Several familiar, stalwart faces are on hand to help the boys become men and the men to accept aging gracefully, including John Heard, Clancy Brown, and Neal McDonough. Costner is perfect in a curmudgeonly role that fits him like a tailor-made wet suit. The real surprise is Kutcher, who seems to grow as an actor as his character grows as a person, revealing lots of murky depth. Bonnie Bramlet adds some sparkle as the singer at the local watering hole. [More]

Starring: Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Clancy Brown, Sela Ward

Starring: Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Clancy Brown, Sela Ward, Melissa Sagemiller, Travis Willingham, John Heard, Neal McDonough, Bonnie Bramlett

Director: Andrew Davis

Director: Andrew Davis
Screenwriter: Ron L. Brinkerhoff
Producer: Beau Flynn, Tripp Vinson
Composer: Trevor Rabin
Studio: Touchstone Pictures

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Release:

Jan 23, 2007

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Reviews for The Guardian

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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"The Guardian" is a pro-military propaganda movie from Hollywood that attempts to mask its agenda behind the life-saving rhetoric of Coast Guard rescue swimmers.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/25/09
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

There is a breadth of quality about the acting, including a fine performance from Sela Ward as Ben's estranged wife - making a lot more of her role than her meagre scripting suggests.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
12/07/07
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film

Overly bloated action drama that is predictable and drawn out.

Full Review Source: Calgary Movies | comment Comment
09/16/07
Ryan Cracknell
Calgary Movies

Will definitely rescue some moviegoers from the post-summer doldrums, but someone should have told Davis that there's going to be casualities if he leaves audiences in the water that long.

Full Review Source: UGO Screenwriter's Voice | comment Comment
03/24/07
Brian Tallerico
UGO Screenwriter's Voice

The Guardian isn't as boring as Annapolis and SWAT, but it's still a feature-length training montage about kids learning the importance of taking it to the limit.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
03/15/07
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

...an old-fashioned, irresistibly earnest piece of work...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
03/10/07
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

A well-judged performance by Kevin Costner brings drama to this actioner.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Richard James Havis
Film Journal International

I'd have given it an A-. But it goes on & on, off the deep end into the even hokier. But since it choked me up earlier on, I'm calling it a weak B .

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
02/19/07
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

The Guardian is an ordinary movie about extraordinary people.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
01/20/07
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

This character-driven drama about redemption feels fresh, mostly due to good storytelling and two fine lead performances

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
11/24/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

a drama that's sometimes as generic as its title... (but)when they're not being forced to snarl at each other, Costner and Kutcher make a likable team...

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
11/24/06
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

full review in Greek

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
11/13/06
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

The film certainly comes across like a paid Coast Guard advertisement at times.

Full Review Source: Norman Transcript | comment Comment
10/18/06
Jim Chastain
Norman Transcript
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/14/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Costner's actually pretty good in the role which could, at a pinch, be seen as a metaphor for getting too old for action-based parts and having to move over for younger, prettier models.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/14/06
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/14/06
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
10/14/06
Robert Hanks
Independent

... with Kevin Costner splashing about in this An Officer and a Gentleman-meets Top Gun-meets the Coast Guard plot, the sea of clichés is mostly palatable.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
10/13/06
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/13/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
10/13/06
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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