Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) is a US Coast Guard rescue swimmer, responding to on-sea mishaps and protecting sailors from going down with their ships. But when an error in personal judgment results in the tragic death of his pilot crew and longtime friend Carl Billings, Randall gets reassigned to teach at the US Coast Guard’s “A” School.

Enter hot shot swimming ace Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) who is running from his past and swimming towards his future. Fischer immediately strikes an opposing dynamic with Randall, who pushes him to the limits in an attempt to crack his enigmatic outer shell and figure out his true intensions.

The movie focuses primarily on Randall and Fischer’s back and forth battering to prove that neither will bow to the other’s will. But the onscreen dynamic created is totally believable and acts to move the film forward. When the action culminates in one highly emotional scene and Fischer’s background is revealed, the tension is eerily realistic. Both actors do a great job acting their parts and making the performance pragmatic.

The Guardian is a highly enjoyable family movie that is safe for all ages. However, the movie itself overplays its appeal, as an added sequence of scenes causes the storyline to falter and become monotonous in a Full Metal Jacket type way. My suggestion is to stop the movie after the school scenes, because the rest is highly unnecessary to the film. Much like FMJ’s Vietnam portion, GUARDIAN grows excessively slow and tedious when dealing with its life-after-school segment. The sole purpose of this ending story is to tug at the viewer’s heartstrings one extra time.

Follow the movie to the end if you decide to watch the entire flick. If you do invest enough time into the ending, you will appreciate the payoff. Again though, it is not necessary, and you’ll get just as much out of the feel-good message from cutting it short as you would finishing to completion.

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