Film comes with a heavy Cost-ner

By Taylor-Lynn Capaldo
Collegian Reporter
October 4, 2006

It’s never fun to see former A-listers fail, flop and flounder. In The Guardian, directed by Andrew Davis (1993’s The Fugitive) and staring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, viewers get all three in a soggy dosage.

The Guardian revolves around Senior Chief Ben Randall (Costner), a member of the U.S. Coastguard. Randall and his crewmembers are involved in a fire aboard a boat. The entire crew is lost, with the exception of Randall. He then gets reassigned to teach an “A” school, where there will be potentially future Coastguard members.

He is confronted by an egotistical student, Jake Fischer (Kutcher), who is more determined to break records than learn and live the dignified duties of a coastguard.

The Guardian doesn’t have a point. Rather, it comes off as dull and boring, with an unoriginal formula that compares to little more than Top Gun under water. The movie itself was too predictable.

Almost immediatly, I knew Kutcher and Costner’s characters would not get along at first, and then, of course, form a special bond with a disastrous outcome in the end. With the way the cameras were angled, the movie itself felt like a reality show during the school training sessions, and it would be a bad reality show to be honest.

Kutcher’s acting is by far is the worst thing about this movie. He should just stick to acting immature rather than trying to pull off some sort of dramatic role. Instead of sympathizing about his horrible past of how he was the cause of a fiery car crash that had casualties, I found myself laughing at what an awful actor he is, and how he tries too hard to get a tear out.

Besides that horrible display of acting, the movie itself was entirely too long. It should have ended sooner then it did. There were numerous scenes that could have been potential endings. However, the movie constantly continued just when I wanted it to end. Many of the scenes could have been cut, especially the bar scenes, because they showed disrespect towards men and women in the navy. These parts give the audience the illusion that the navy is the only U.S. force that should be appreciated on the sea, and that coastguards are at the bottom of the barrel.

Also, I felt scene placement was an issue because it did not make for a good ending to the movie. The very last scene should have been placed a few scenes back. Granted, it would not have made the movie any better, but it would have been a start.

The Guardian isn’t even worth a rental. The film doesn’t gain interest, thanks to its bad acting and poor storyline ideas. Just like those who I saw The Guardian with, you too will end up walking out of the theater before the movie has even ended.

capaldot1@lasalle.edu