The Guardian (2006)
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A haunted Coast Guard instructor must mentor a hot-shot recruit while grappling with the survivor's guilt of a tragic past.
The story
Senior Chief Petty Officer Ben Randall is the top rescue swimmer at the United States Coast Guard's Aviation Survival Technician (AST) program, but the long hours have destroyed his marriage. When on a rescue, Ben loses his team in a helicopter crash at sea. Shaken by survivor guilt, Ben is transferred to become an instructor at the Coast Guard AST training school in Louisiana. There, he meets Jake Fischer, a top high school competitive swimmer who enlisted in the Coast Guard. During training, Ben initially believes Jake to be lazy and unmotivated, but gradually begins to see the student's persistence and dedication.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Senior Chief Petty Officer Ben Randall, a top Coast Guard rescue swimmer, is haunted by the loss of his team in a helicopter crash. He becomes an instructor at a training school in Louisiana, where he meets Jake Fischer, a competitive swimmer. While Ben initially tries to force Jake to quit, they eventually bond over their shared experiences as sole survivors of past tragedies. Jake also begins a relationship with a local teacher, Emily Thomas. After graduation, Ben and Jake are sent on a rescue mission where Ben experiences flashbacks, prompting his retirement. Later, Jake is trapped in a sinking fishing trawler. Ben hears of the situation and personally rescues Jake. As they are winched up, the cable begins to separate; Ben unclips himself to save Jake and falls to his death. Much later, Jake reconnects with Emily and hears a survivor repeat the legend of 'the Guardian,' which he realizes was Ben.
- First release year
- 2006
- Runtime (minutes)
- 139
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Andrew Davis
- Writers
- Ron L. Brinkerhoff · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kevin Costner · Senior Chief Aviation Survival Technician Ben Randall; Ashton Kutcher · Airman / Aviation Survival Technician Third Class Jake Fischer; Neal McDonough · Chief Aviation Survival Technician Jack Skinner; Melissa Sagemiller · Emily Thomas; Clancy Brown · Captain William Hadley; Sela Ward · Helen Randall; Brian Geraghty · Aviation Survival Technician Third Class Billy Hodge; Omari Hardwick · Chief Petty Officer Carl Billings
- Themes
- survivor's guilt; mentorship; sacrifice; heroism
- Tone and mood
- heroic; dramatic; sentimental
- Premise and plot tags
- military; rescue; training; survival
- Source material / true-story basis
- The mishap in The Guardian where Randall loses his crew is loosely based on an actual U.S. Coast Guard aviation mishap in Alaska.
- Reception
- The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics, with some praising its authenticity while others criticized it for being formulaic and cliché-ridden.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 37% · scale: percentage · review count: 149; Metacritic · score: 53 · scale: 100 · review count: 29
- Production trivia
- David Dobkin was originally slated to direct until being replaced by Andrew Davis.; The production moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, following the 2005 hurricanes.; Many of the supporting actors are actual U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers, pilots, and ground personnel.
Genres
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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