Continuing my plan to watch every Kevin Costner movie in his filmography in order, I come to 2006's The Guardian Plot In A Paragraph: Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) a high school swim champion, enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's "A" School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall (KC) teaches him some hard lessons as he believes he is there for the wrong reasons.There is absolutely nothing new here, we've seen everything before. Mainly in An Officer & A Gentleman, The Guardian is as cliché as it gets. But I for one find it an enjoyable movie.Almost every cliché is ticked along the way, (I think the only one they missed is Kutchers love interest not being KC's daughter) but that doesn't meant it isn't good. Both leads put in good performances and are well backed up by Neal McDonough, Clancy Brown, Brian Geraghty and John Heard.As for the characters, KC is grumpy, Kutcher is arrogant, Geraghty is suitably shy and nervous, but it's McDonough who I believe is what an instructor would be like in a place like this.Slated upon release, I can't recall reading one positive review, but I enjoyed it then, and I still do now, it's one both of my kids like too. It's one of the movies that if the kids walk in a room and I'm watching it, they will sit with me and watch the rest of it.

As you watch, please remember "The Guardian" is a motion picture – a lot of the scenes are played in a way that will elicit certain emotions. Some of the scenes are just plain fantasy. However, that being said, please also remember that there are thousands of individuals who serve their country daily in the U. S. Coast Guard, a military service now under the Department of Homeland Security, but previously directed by the Department of Transportation. They serve at sea, on land and in the air. Much of the drama and danger depicted in the film is more than real. These situations happen far more often than you would imagine. How do I know? I served in the USCG from 1976 to 1984 several decades prior to the approximate time of the motion picture. The video training footage is real. And, it's simply amazing that many people are actually saved from some of those hopeless situations.I almost lost my life on several occasions while tending to routine duty. Had it not been for our CG training and attention to detail, both before and during our missions, I would not be writing this review today. I served in every location depicted in the film, including Alaska, which can indeed be a brutal environment. The major portion of my small boat duty happened in the Gulf of Mexico. As we used to say while on small boat duty, "we are required to go out to sea, but we are not required to return." On the other hand, none of us was given permission by our commanding officer or chief to get hurt of killed.I used to get somewhat miffed at the amount of publicity and attention that those in the aviation branches get over the much larger force of seagoing officers and enlisted sailors who take care of the daily drudgery and human drama that happens far too often while people are attempting to earn their living from the ever changing and unforgiving environment of the sea. But, the media likes that kind of high visual drama. The Officer of the Day won't spend a dime of the money it takes to fire up a sophisticated, multi-million dollar aircraft and risk a group of highly trained aviation personnel without some definite attainable mission. When things go wrong out there in the middle of nowhere, they can go wrong very fast. Many times a radio call to the USCG is all that stands between Davy Jones' locker and some more time spent on this earth with your family and friends. How much is it worth? Just ask any victim of circumstance who has spotted the red, white and blue stripes of a Coast Guard rescue. There are no words to describe it when a set of strong hands reaches for you and you hear those welcome words, "I'm with the U. S. Coast Guard. I'm here to help you." The relief is overwhelming.When USCG pilots and enlisted swimmers go to sea, they have only a very limited time to affect a rescue, usually governed by fuel, load, weather, and yes, sometimes even luck. The job they do out there is supposed to be mostly routine. But, when the pilot announces it's time to leave the scene, you leave the scene. There is no question. It's either that or the people in the aircraft face a high risk of death. Every move the crew makes is full of life and death decisions that will determine the fate of not only those they are rescuing, but the personnel on the aircraft as well. Just one small error is all it takes for everyone in an operation to have a very bad day. So, all Coast Guard training is intentionally difficult to account for those variables.This motion picture, "The Defection of Simas Kudirka (1978)" and a hand full of other films are a testament to the training, dedication to duty and the constant attention and work by the maintenance personnel that keep the helicopters, airplanes, small boats and cutters operating smoothly and safely to accomplish the over 200 mandated missions of the U. S. Coast Guard every hour of every day.

This movie was so underrated in my opinion. I have to admit, I originally had low expectations and only saw it because I actually think Kutcher is a pretty good actor. I have to admit I was surprise. The movie was not slow, it kept the viewer engage and all these people crying about how sappy & cliché it was, I don't know what they're talking about. One of the things I like best is that unlike similar movies such as "a soldier and a gentle men",or damn near every military movie ever made, it tried to not dwell in the clichés too long. The movie did'nt dwell in the love story, or the young man coming into him self story, nor did it harp on the coast guard the way most propaganda military movies do. It was quite balance in my opinion. Now, I must admit, there were little moments that were slightly over the top but never unrealistic. These so called critics amaze me with their crappy reviews that seem to like nothing unless it's historical, overly politically correct or is a representation of what they deem even worthy which is usually boring. How could they pan this movie and give rave reviews to total crap like looper...I'm done!

The first three quarters of the film were gripping, focusing on tough training, tension filled relationships, and a bit of romance. Then the last quarter focuses on actual coast guard rescues, which feels like it has been wrenched in to contrive a dramatic ending. From a realistic and tough training programme, we're suddenly fed some hokum about a magical guardian ghost who's saving people? Forget about it. I would have equally disliked the final scene having Costner and Kutcher escape safely though, because the film should have ended before that point. I largely forgive all this though, as overall the story is treated well enough.