"The Guardian" - A Film Review

Film : The Guardian
Date of Release (India) : 9th December 2006
Cast : Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher
Director : Andrew Davis (Fugitive, Collateral Damage)

“There is a legend of a man who lives beneath the sea … he is a fisher of men … a last hope of people who have been left behind.”

The Film starts with Kevin Costner’s voice in the background , (now we know where Bollywood gets ideas from!) and moves to quick snapshots of a helicopter whirring over some Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers. This tense emotional action drama is the highlight of this flick.
A noticeably trimmer Kevin-“Coast”-ner plays a veteran U.S Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Ben Randall. He holds all the records that can be held. But after a rescue mission goes tragically haywire, and suffering from the psychological scars of that mishap as well as the breakup of his marriage, Ben is sent to teach new recruits at an Coast Guard academy. He is advised to “download his resume where it matters”!
Enter high school swim champ Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) – aka Goldfish – who wants to beat every record that Ben has created.

The film is well casted and Costner steals the show as the conflicted trainer. For a change he plays his age with the crow’s feet near his eyes, and the wrinkled salt and pepper look. There’s also an appealing ensemble cast of secondary characters of both officers and recruits. The story is quite enjoyable, filled with scenes of watery challenges and student bonding, with a good dose of humor sprinkled in. The trainer and trainee relationship goes through the checklist items of a typical training camp film. The candidates are subjected to backbreaking drills like oxygen deprivation, hypothermia, and how to save a drowning victim in the high seas. There are also the respective lady-loves of Ben and Jake, & they provide some emotional color to the entire sketch.

Yes, of course, Ben sees something of himself in the young hotshot Jake. But he also senses a hesitation on Jake's part to save someone if they were in true peril. So the question that both mentor and student must answer is whether Jake has the courage to sacrifice himself should that moment ever happen. The film goes into a lifesaver’s mind and dives into questions like “When you cannot save them all. How do you decide which one to?” And it gives you answers in the end.
This film will prove to be a film trivia buff's delight. The typical Newbie and Commander, Rookie and Officer, Trainee and Mentor relationship will remind you of many of the Basic training camp films it replicates. It is easy to brush this film off as a predictable, watery remould of "An Officer and a Gentleman", or a “Top Gun in the ocean”. Yet I found myself absorbed in the tense rescue scenes that dot the film from beginning to end. The film has interesting camera work & splendid underwater shots which add to the emotional drama. But I’ll give the film this… If you thought coast guards were “Baywatch” & Pam Anderson and Hasselhoff in their red trunks, well think again, Here’s a flick that’ll make you feel like hitting the pool and learning how to swim better.

Warning : The film runs over two hours.. so take your sweater along, it could get cold in the theatres when u watch those chilly alaskan rescue sequences.
Anjaan’s Verdict : Worth a Dekko, but Pick up the DVD!