If a film loving alien crash landed on Earth and was especially interested in completing the Kevin Costner movie omnibus in record time, I would solve all his problems by directing him to “The Guardian.” Acting in this movie must have been like traveling back in time for Costner. Pretty much every Kevin Costner movie is represented to some degree in this “Top Gun” meets the Coast Guard action-drama.
Since the entire picture involves water in some way, shape or form its got homage to “Waterworld,” a movie viewing experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Its got the teacher-student elements of “Bull Durham” and the chutzpah and cockiness of “The Bodyguard.” And it even has a slight nod to Mr. Costner’s sporadic British accent in “Robin Hood.” Yes, Bryan Adams shows up belting a tune as the closing credits begin. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.
All mocking aside, “The Guardian” is one of those movies I enjoyed, but can’t quite recommend for a full price ticket. I never thought a movie about the Coast Guard, especially one starring Kevin Costner and Aston Kutcher, would be so entertaining and informative, but I suppose a lot of the film’s gusto comes from longtime action director, Andrew Davis (“The Fugitive”). Sadly, Davis constructs half of a good movie, letting the ending sputter through a contrived, clichéd and laughable finale everyone in the theater saw coming.
The film opens by introducing us to Ben Randall (Kevin Costner), one of the Coast Guard’s best and most decorated rescue swimmers. We see an example of his dedication as he saves a husband and wife stranded in the freezing temperatures of the Bering Sea. We also see that his marriage is disintegrating because of his relentless commitment to his career as a rescue swimmer, as he arrives home to find wife Helen (Sela Ward) loading her belongings onto a moving van. As they discuss their future, he gets paged to assist with another rescue mission.
Randall and his team head out in a bad storm to rescue a downed fishing vessel’s crew. Things go screwy and the rescue helicopter goes down in fireball reminiscent of the train wreck in “The Fugitive” and a bit juicier than Tom Hanks’ plane crash in “Cast Away.” The crew of the fishing boat dies. Randall’s best friend and crewmember dies. Everything in his life has now completely shifted 360 degrees.
After the funeral and some recovery time, Randall does what every traumatized veteran rescue diver would do: Leave Alaska and head to Washington to be an instructor at Top Gun. Wait, did I say Top Gun? Silly me, I meant the Coast Guard training center. Returning to his roots and knowing that some of the training will not prepare these students for the decisions and perils they will face in the heat of battle, Randall decides to apply his own brand of training, much to the disgruntlement of the recruits and fellow trainers.
One of the recruits, Jake Fischer (Aston Kutcher), catches Randall’s eye and although Randall is tough on him and puts him through hell many-a-time, he can see much of himself in Jake. They both are suffering from the blame and guilt game that comes from being the only survivor of a horrific accident. You know Randall’s, because I relayed it, but I’ll leave Jake’s for him to tell and finish by saying that Randall admires the kid so much he recommends, upon graduation, that he work in Alaska with Randall’s unit. This leads to the cheesy ending that I hoped wouldn’t come, because up to that point, the movie was original, informative and full of action.
Oh, and one more thing: Why do filmmakers always feel the need to shove an ill-fitting, corny romance into the bulk of a major motion picture? Yes, Aston Kutcher looks like he stepped off the pages of Abercrombie & Fitch, but the romance is contrived and forced and puts him and Costner in such a state of parallelism that eventually the characters look too star-crossed to be real.
With that said, “The Guardian” is one of the better movies to hit theaters this autumn, but if you’re pinching pennies, I’d recommend catching a re-run of “The Fugitive” on TV, or if you need your Kevin Costner fix, I’d recommend “Open Range.”
