THE GUARDIAN

"Whatever the weather, we go out"

The almost legendary US Coast Guard rescue swimmer Ben Randall returns to the elite training facility in Louisiana to groom the newest recruits. Chief amongst them is star swimmer Jake Fischer (Kutcher) who is out to break all the endurance records on the base and become the star cadet. Randall doesn't see a star however but a lot of potential hindered by the fact that he won't work in a team. So now Jake faces the most gruelling training programme he could ever face with Randall pushing him at every turn.

Kevin Costner's career has been in the doldrums since the mid-90s but after a couple of hits over the last few years, film fans were starting hope he had returned to form but then along came 'The Guardian'

After returning to form with 'Thirteen Days' and 'Open Range', things were starting to pick up but between these hits were some more real misfires. '3000 Miles to Graceland', 'Dragonfly' and 'Rumour Has It...' were real duds and continued his run of bad form but his fans had hope with his look at the Cuban missile crisis and return to the western. When it was announced that he was to star in a movie about the US Coast Guard and it was going to be directed by the man who brought us 'The Fugitive' and 'Under Siege', you might have been hopefully but that hope would be sadly misplaced.

The US Coast Guard rescue swimmers are some of the bravest men and women in the emergency services and bringing a story of what they do every day to the silver screen could have been an interesting and powerful movie. Instead Andrew Davis and his creative team have throw 'Top Gun' and 'An Officer and a Gentleman' into a mixing pot to create a story that is overly sentimental, over the top and downright cringe worthy.

The hardnosed training officer who targets the cocky recruit for harder training to bring out his true potential sounds very familiar because it is. This complete lack of originality makes the film so completely average that you will be longing for the movie to end and at over two and quarter hours long you will be hoping for an early rescue. The film has about five moments were you think you can finally get out of your seat but just as you fell the slightest bit of air between your butt and the seat the film just keeps on going, drowning you in sentimental clap trap.

The performances are not much better. Kevin Costner is on autopilot as rescue swimming legend Ben Randall. He doesn't really seem to be putting any effort into the role, even when the character is going through a traumatic moment. Ashton Kutcher hasn't never really proved himself as a dramatic actor. His turn in 'The Butterfly Effect' was pretty good but apart from that he has struggles to make an impact and the same can be said here. As star recruit Jake Fischer, he seems to try far too hard and makes the character not very likeable. Melissa Sagemiller and Sela Ward fair a little better as the love interests for our leading men, but they have little to do.

'The Guardian' is like been transported back to the 80s on a rickety old boat that is destined to sink. With a story that offer absolutely nothing new and you will be longing for the film to end. This is a backward step for Kevin Costner, who really needs to get himself a better agent because even his die-hard fans won't be able to save this.

An Officer and a Gentleman

Top Gun

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2006