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Release Date: September 29th, 2006 by Touchtone Pictures. The Cast: Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Derek Adams, Shelby Fenner, Omari Hardwick, John Heard, Domon Lipari, Neal McDonough, Scott Mueller, Sela Ward. Directed by Andrew Davis. BASIC PREMISE: Jake (Kutcher) enlists in the U.S. Coast Guard with Ben (Costner) as his instructor. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: The Guardian has a few thrilling suspenseful and thrilling rescue scenes, but fails as a drama with too many training sequences that drag. Your enjoyment of the film depends on how much you can tolerate Ashton Kutcher. Kutcher plays, Jake, a troubled, stubborn young man who always has quips for his older instructor, Ben. Too many scenes feel redundant as Jake spends time socializing at the bar and flirting with a potential love interest (Sagemiller). It’s not quite clear what she sees in him to begin with, so their romance feels forced. The Guardian is most fascinating and even humorous during the scenes with Jake and Ben interacting. The screenplay by Ron L. Brinkerhoff has too many clichéd and cheesy scenes, some of which feel melodramatic, especially in the second half. It’s nice that there’s a subplot regarding Ben’s dysfunctional relationship with his wife (Ward), but it feels contrived and underdeveloped. Also, the film ends at least 3 or 4 times in the painfully long third act. Director Andrew Davis does a decent job of moving the film along at a brisk pace and includes terrific special effects during the few rescue scenes. However, at a running time 2 hours and 20 minutes, The Guardian overstays its welcome. SPIRITUAL VALUE: Unfortunately, none. INSULT TO YOUR INTELLIGENCE: Excessively long, clichéd and contrived. NUMBER OF TIMES I CHECKED MY WATCH: 7 IN A NUTSHELL: Thrilling action scenes, but clichéd and contrived as a drama. RECOMMENDED WAY TO WATCH: VHS/DVD Main Page Alphabetical Menu Chronological Menu The "G" Menu ______________________________________________________ |
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