Guardian, The (1/23/2007)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action/peril, brief strong language and some sensuality.

Directed by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, Holes, Collateral Damage)

Starring Kevin Costner & Ashton Kutcher

As you can see, the director of this film is hit and miss. He brought you really well done films like The Fugitive and Holes, but he also brought us Collateral Damage and Chain Reaction.

The fact is, most critics don’t like this film, but most mainstream audiences are mildly enjoying it. It’s not the best film they’ve ever seen, mind you. But it’s definitely worth renting it and popping up some popcorn.

Todd and I disagreed on this film. Todd thought it was a coaster, I thought it was even theatre worthy. So we’ll let you eavesdrop into our banter just a little bit:

TODD’S SYNOPSIS:
The story (as weak as it is) is about U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Ben Randall (Kevin Costner). When tragedy strikes, Ben reluctantly decides to take a break from active service as a rescue swimmer, taking the position as an instructor at the Coast Guard Academy. This is where we are introduced to Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), a young, cocky recruit who sets out to be the “Top Gun”…oh wait that was another movie.

Regrettably, that’s not where the similarities end. There is a romantic relationship that begins in a bar with a “I can pick her up” contest (I kept waiting for someone to start singing “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling”), a best friend dieing, flashbacks, and overcoming it all to save the day.

JONATHAN’S WORD:
I gotta admit, when I first saw the preview for this film, I groaned, “Another Kevin Costner flop.” To me, Kevin is like Andrew Davis… he’s hit and miss, with probably more miss than hit. I loved him recently in Open Range, and he definitely proved himself early in his career with Silverado and Dances with Wolves.

Guardian surprised me. It started with action, was evenly paced, with strong performances… it delivered overall. Yes, some people could compare it to Top Gun or An Officer and A Gentleman. But wouldn’t any film featuring military training school face such criticism? Over all, I think it held its own. And most critics agree that it provided a much needed praise of the Coast Guard.

TODDS CRITICISM:
I was actually looking forward to the training sequences, which is a significant part of the movie. I was hoping for a Rocky meets Top Gun. Well it didn’t happen, in fact, most of the footage looks like a home video…for me, it just didn’t work.

JONATHAN:
Home video? Maybe you just need to buy a new TV my poor friend!

TODD:
Yeah… thanks Mr. HD. I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m depositing my paycheck from the CHURCH!

Anyway, I thought the story lacked originality and the performances lacked passion and believability. The 30-second trailer was awesome. The 2 hour and 10 minute movie…not so much.

JONATHAN:
I have to disagree again. I thought the preview looked like cheese, but the feature delivered.

And what performances lacked passion?

TODD:
How about Sela Ward’s line, “I guess I just have to save myself.”

JONATHAN:
Sure, it’s not going to go down in IFC’s list of top one-liners. But even if you didn’t like that line, let’s not attribute that to Sela Ward’s performance. That was the script.

Now, to give you some credit, I do think you brought up one of the films weaknesses: the writing. I think the directing and acting were fine, but the script could have used a little work. My wife said that she enjoyed the whole movie until the last two minutes. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but she said, “How many times have we seen that predicament?” It lacked originality in parts.

TODD:
Yeah… but in ALL it’s parts. Even the DVD features. For example: It has a “tribute to the real life U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers” called Unsung Heroes. Once again I was very disappointed. The rescue swimmers are an amazing group of people who live by the creed, “So that others may live” and I think they could have and should have put together a much better mini-documentary/tribute.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
TODD: Only if they are being punished.

JONATHAN: I let my kids see it. My 9 year old daughter was a little bit scared at the beginning during one of the rescue scenes that was a little tense. It was almost too tense for her.

Then there was a scene I paused and discussed with my kids. It was one of those scenes that the world would label “clean” because there was no sex or nudity. But it’s message was loud and clear. In the scene, Ashton’s character and his “date” had decided not to get serious. Neither wanted a serious relationship. So what do they do? They go and sleep together. It doesn’t show anything, it’s just implied. But they are lying in bed talking about how they don’t want to get serious.

What a snapshot of our society today. Almost a textbook definition of “hooking up”… casual, non-committal, almost recreational sex.

Our family had a good conversation about this compared to what the Bible says about sex.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

1. What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
2. How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
3. How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?