The Guardian

In parts, The Guardian is an efficient if unchallenging feature. It successfully mines the Coast Guard rescue swimmer training program for some semiserious drama involving a teacher (Kevin Costner) and his student (Ashton Kutcher) who share a dark past and a tough exterior. Both Kutcher and Costner give solid performances and with the help of a predominantly smart script, they create two really compelling characters.

Unfortunately, The Guardian does not settle for being a charming film about some rah-rah training program. Instead it plods endlessly through a 135 minute runtime that extends beyond graduation and into an unnecessary action sequence with an even more unnecessary romance tacked on at the very end. These overdevelop the film’s clichéd action movie attributes rather than focusing on its more engaging emotional depth. Though action and emotion seem meant to collide in the film’s climax, it’s such a stupidly melodramatic finale that the whole movie becomes reduced to a laughable retread of even lamer tragic hero tales of the past. Plus, the part about Kevin Costner being “one with the ocean” could get a giggle out of almost anyone.

Had the film ended about 30 minutes sooner then it actually did, it would have been a nicely paced and thoroughly enjoyable action drama. However, this is a poorly handled film that loses its luster long before the credits roll and stumbles into utter and complete foolishness.

Grade: C+