The Guardian

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The Guardian

PG-13

2006

2h 19m

Drama

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

37%

Tomatometer

149 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

A Coast Guard rescue swimmer (Kevin Costner), who still mourns losing his crew in a fatal accident, copes by dedicating his life to training new recruits, so when he meets swimming champion Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), he molds the cocky young man into his protégé and takes him on a mission in the dangerous waters of the Bering Strait.

Critics Consensus

The Coast Guard gets its chance for a heroic movie tribute, but The Guardian does it no justice, borrowing cliche after cliche from other (and better) military branch movies.

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Brian Tallerico

UGO Screenwriter's Voice

03/24/2007

Will definitely rescue some moviegoers from the post-summer doldrums, but someone should have told Davis that there's going to be casualities if he leaves audiences in the water that long.

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Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

09/29/2006

Kutcher and Costner have a kind of visual chemistry that's just as elusive as the other kind. And the connection and contrast between them remind us that Hollywood isn't as forgiving of older male actors as we like to think.

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Scott Bowles

USA Today

09/29/2006

2/4

Kutcher may soon be ready to anchor a Hollywood sea voyage. But for now, he's still a touch out of his depth.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

09/09/2020

2.0/4.0

A simple, predictable, and formulaic action flick.

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VyceVictus

Lewton Bus

02/06/2020

The Guardian is ultimately a by the numbers movie that failed to hit big at the box office, seemingly lost to time. Various elements seem dated or unintentionally hilarious.

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

11/06/2019

When I left the theater, it was with not only newfound knowledge and respect for the men and women of our Coast Guard, but with a wave of excitement from the sheer excellence and entertainment of the film.

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Keith B

@Okbullard 1d

I really enjoyed this one and definitely have a lot of respect for the Coast Guard rescue swimmers. Costner was excellent as usual and Kutcher was very good as the young upstart recruit. The ending was amazing on more than one level. Ignore the tepid reviews and givee it a watch you'll enjoy it.

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Aaron H

@AHallKnowsAll May 17

One of my all time favorite movies! It’s a great story about some of the most amazing heroes in the world! If you’re not moved and inspired by this movie, there’s something wrong with you!

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Nikolai V

@RayBanMan Jan 17

While I did not necessarily love this film, Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher have an undeniably strong mentor—mentee dynamic that gives it incredible heart. Ashton does a solid job of portraying an over-confident misguided young cadet who is more self-interested than in supporting his team or saving people. Kevin Costner does a great job of playing the role of a man that has dedicated his life to saving people and is haunted by the ones he could not save. While certain parts of the film were obvious and a little too obvious at that, I do think the film was worth the watch. It highlights an area of theUS military I was not familiar with— the Coast Guard. And, while It likely "hollywood-ed" what actually happens in that branch, it will was still nice to see it on film with a powerful transformation story behind it. Why it only got 3.5 stars from me was because of the dialogue (writers fault) and what I perceived as Ashtons weak emotional acting. Still worth a watch!

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gerald h

@RottenGary Dec 17

Dumbo US hero crap for the simple minded.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Nov 20

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Mark F.

@Fischer Aug 13

It is and absolutely fantastic movie of our everyday heroes in the coast guard and is 100% worth the watch.

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Andrew Davis

Director

Kevin Costner

Ben Randall

Ashton Kutcher

Jake Fischer

Sela Ward

Helen Randall

Melissa Sagemiller

Emily Thomas

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Synopsis

A Coast Guard rescue swimmer (Kevin Costner), who still mourns losing his crew in a fatal accident, copes by dedicating his life to training new recruits, so when he meets swimming champion Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), he molds the cocky young man into his protégé and takes him on a mission in the dangerous waters of the Bering Strait.

Director: Andrew Davis
Producer: Beau Flynn, Tripp Vinson
Screenwriter: Ron L. Brinkerhoff, James Vanderbilt
Distributor: Buena Vista
Production Co: Eyetronics, Beacon Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Firm Films, Contrafilm, A School Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Action|Brief Strong Language|Peril|Some Sensuality)
Genre: Drama, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 29, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $55.0M
Runtime: 2h 19m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)