The Guardian is a 2006 action-adventure drama film starring Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, and Melissa Sagemiller. The film was released on September 29, 2006, and was directed by Andrew Davis, director of The Fugitive. The setting for the film is the United States Coast Guard and their Aviation Survival Technician (AST) program.

Plot[link]

Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) is the top rescue swimmer at the United States Coast Guard's Aviation Survival Technician (AST) program, who continues to work against regulation past the age of 40. Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) is a hot-shot candidate for AST who was ranked as a top competitive swimmer in high school with scholarships to every Ivy league college, but opted to enlist in the Coast Guard. The film's title is introduced by a mythic tale: people lost at sea often claim they feel a presence lifting them to the surface, breathing life into their bodies while they are waiting for help to arrive. They call this presence "The Guardian."

Ben is confronted by his wife, asking for a separation due to his frequent time at work. He receives a page for an immediate rescue. Out at sea, he loses his rescue team in an HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter crash and while waiting in a survival raft, his best friend, Chief Petty Officer Carl Billings (Omari Hardwick), dies. Shaken, he is forced to either retire or teach at a Coast Guard training school; he reluctantly chooses the latter. Here, Jake arrives as a hopeful AST candidate at "A" school, where Ben is considered a legend with a countless number of saves.

During the training, Jake meets a local schoolteacher, Emily Thomas, and they begin a "casual" relationship, as they both know their time together is limited. Once the initial weeks of training are over and most of the students dropped out, detailed instruction begins at the academy. After sleeping at Emily’s house, Jake arrives late to class and is confronted by Ben. Although Jake is not dropped, he is punished for his tardiness. Ben tries to force Jake into quitting, but he later sees his persistence and dedication. Meeting Emily in a bar, Jake tells her about him beating all of his instructor Ben Randall's records. However, Maggie the barkeep (Bonnie Bramlett), an old friend of Ben's, tells Jake of an unbreakable record, in which a rescue at a ship fire, Ben worked tirelessly to save all the victims. With one man left and a broken winch, Randall held the man by his fingertips for the entire flight to land, resulting in extensive injuries to his hand and shoulder.

Later, during instruction, Jake's friend Charlie Hodge is unable to cope with panicked victims in the water and is afraid of failing school, so Jake takes him out for a drink to cheer him up. After ending up in a Navy bar, they get involved in a fight and land in jail, leaving Jake's girlfriend stood up. Jake arrives back at base beaten and bandaged where he takes the blame entirely.

Ben confronts Jake as to why he left his prospects as a competitive swimmer to join the AST program, and tells Jake what he learned about Jake's past: on a late night out, Jake, the designated driver, got into an accidental automobile crash, resulting in the deaths of his high school relay team. After a moment of sorrow, Ben and Jake share common ground; they both know how it feels to be the only survivor. Instruction is nearing completion and Jake takes to the role of leader during exercises. At graduation only a handful of the original candidates remain. Emily comes to see Jake graduate, but the two part ways because Jake is leaving town.

Jake is assigned to CG Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, which is Randall's old post. On a mission together, they are sent to rescue two kayakers trapped in a cave. Ben experiences flashbacks and appears to be incapacitated during the rescue. Ben retires and tells Jake of his only record he kept track of - the 22 people he lost during his career. Ben apologizes to his wife and gives her the divorce papers. Back at the station, Ben hears of a capsized ship and opts to join Jake on the rescue mission.

Jake gets trapped in the hull while unsuccessfully trying to save the ship's captain, prompting Ben to go in and save him. Technical difficulties endanger the rescuers and survivors and Ben decides to sacrifice himself by falling from the helicopter. Jake catches him and tells him he will not let him go. Ben acknowledges this and unstraps his glove, plummeting from a fatal height into the ocean. Ben does not resurface.

Jake is on a rescue mission sometime later when one of the survivors tells of a man in the sea who refuses to let go. Jake connects this to the legend, as well as Ben. He goes back to Emily and they rekindle their relationship.

Cast[link]

Many of the supporting actors, including ASTC instructors, helicopter pilots, and support personnel, are actual U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers, pilots, and ground personnel. Several characters, including Kutcher's, identify themselves as Airman. An Airman is the enlisted rating of a Coast Guardsman who is undesignated and/or currently undergoing training in an aviation related field. Similar ratings within the Coast Guard are those of Seaman and Fireman.

One of the students was Mark Gangloff, an Olympic swimmer who received a gold medal in the Athens Olympic Games.

• Kevin Costner as Senior Chief Aviation Survival Technician Ben Randall
• Ashton Kutcher as Airman/Petty Officer 3rd Class Jake Fischer
• Neal McDonough as Chief Aviation Survival Technician Jack Skinner
• Melissa Sagemiller as Emily Thomas
• Clancy Brown as Captain William Hadley
• Brian Geraghty as Aviation Survival Technician Third Class Billy Hodge
• Sela Ward as Helen Randall
• Omari Hardwick as Carl Billings
• Michael Rady as Zingaro
• Peter Gail as Airman Danny Doran
• Shelby Fenner as Airman Cate Lindsey
• Damon Lipari as Bennett/Damon Bennett
• Bonnie Bramlett as Maggie McGlone
• John Heard as Captain Frank Larson
• Dulé Hill as Airman Ken Weatherly
• Brian Patrick Wade as Mitch Lyons
• Joe Arquette as Co-Pilot Antunez
• Andrew Schanno as Pilot Henry Mitchell
• Tilky Jones as Tilky Flint
• Daniel Molthen as Richard Wakefield
• Bryce Cass as Manny
• Chicago Catz as the bar band

Production[link]

A wave pool used during filming

A ship located on a hydraulic gimbal used for filming

• The production company hired local contractors to build a massive indoor wave pool for production.
• Following the series of hurricanes in the southern United States in 2005, production moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. Some of the "base" scenes were filmed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana, and also at Camp Minden in Minden, Louisiana.
• The film was revised after Hurricane Katrina, with the addition of several comments on the storm and the rescues following. The end credits are replete with "glory" shots of U.S. Coast Guard helicopters conducting rescues in the greater New Orleans area. The DVD contains a special feature on U.S. Coast Guard rescue operations, especially in the aftermath of Katrina.
• Some of the scenes that were supposed to be filmed in Kodiak, Alaska were filmed at CG Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, instead. 60,000 pounds of ice were needed on the set.
• The training pool used in the movie was LSU-Shreveport's natatorium.
• The 3D fluid effects (ocean surfaces, cresting waves, splashes, bow-spray, boat wakes, rain) were created by Flash Film Works in Hollywood with the expertise of Mark Stasiuk (RealFlow expert) at Fusion CI Studios in Los Angeles.

Historical relevance[link]

The mishap where Randall loses his crew is loosely based on an actual U.S. Coast Guard aviation mishap in Alaska. The aircraft was an HH-3F Pelican (USCG variant of the Jolly Green Giant) instead of the HH-60J Jayhawk (USCG variant of the Blackhawk/Seahawk) pictured in the movie.^[1]

Release[link]

Box office[link]

The film earned $18 million on its opening weekend, and almost $95 million worldwide by January 4, 2007.^[2]

Critical reception[link]

The Guardian received average reviews: Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at 37% rotten (141 reviews: 52 fresh, 89 rotten)^[3] while Metacritic rates it a 53/100 based on 29 reviews^[4]. Stephen Hunter pans it in The Washington Post, calling it "a good little film" for the first hour then it "begins to overload its frail reed of a structure with giant sloppages of cliches from other movies, some so bad it's almost comical", concluding that the movie "veers off into slobbery touchy-feeliness, and the tone becomes mock-religious, almost liturgical."^[5] Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe called it "dutiful but dull."^[6] For The New York Times, A.O. Scott notes that participation by actual members of the Coast Guard "lends an air of authenticity" and concludes "[i]t’s not a great movie, but it’s certainly one of the finest Coast Guard pictures you’re likely to see anytime soon."^[7] In a Variety review, Joe Leydon says the movie is "overlong but [the] involving drama has obvious cross-generational appeal."^[8] Ed Blank in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review acknowledges there is plenty to snipe at yet also adds The Guardian "regurgitates formulaic elements in a way that pays off repeatedly and potently."^[9]

In November 2011 the United States Coast Guard changed their main chant "The Guardian Ethos" to "The Coastguardsman Ethos", removing the word "Guardian" from it entirely. One of the reasons this happened was because the USCG did not want the public just to see the Coast Guard as just AST's as in the movie.

Home media[link]

Alternate ending[link]

In an alternate ending found on the DVD, Randall survives. As he unhooks and tries to fall, Jake again grabs him and vows not to let go. Instead of unstrapping his glove, Randall lets the cable pull them up and it breaks just as they get into the helicopter. This ending was added because some of the writers were worried that the original ending was too strong for viewers. Nonetheless, it was scrapped when Disney chairman, Dick Cook, applauded the original ending.

Soundtrack[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
iTunes	link

The soundtrack was released on September 12, 2006^[10]. The soundtrack uses a variety of music genres, including R&B, Country music, Rock and Soul blues.

Track listing

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• The Guardian at the Internet Movie Database
• The Guardian at AllRovi
• The Guardian at Box Office Mojo
• The Guardian at Rotten Tomatoes
• Official website (DVD)
• The real stories of fatal Coast Guard aviation accidents
• The Guardian at Gery.pl — Film (pl)
• Photos from the premiere of The Guardian at Yahoo Movies
• The Guardian full production notes