Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher team up in this torch-passing tale of the brave men and women in the Navy Coastguard elite rescue diver unit. A catastrophic rescue mission leaves him wounded after his wife (Sela Ward) walks out on him, so heavily decorated, reluctantly aging rescue diver Ben Randall (Costner) takes some leave from the ocean to assume instructor duties down at the naval training base. There his humorless pedagogy rubs a lot of trainees the wrong way, but a champion high-school swimmer, Jake (Kucher), has no problem keeping up, and it looks like old Ben may have found someone worthy to be his replacement. But first each man has to wrestle with his own personal demons...and each other. Under the no-nonsense direction of Andrew Davis (THE FUGITIVE, UNDER SIEGE), the visceral energy flows nonstop through this familiar but nonetheless riveting affair. Shot in a flat, matter-of-fact manner, the harshness of naval academy life is celebrated without being glamorized, while the rescues at sea are nothing short of hair-raising, making excellent use of CGI effects to plunge the viewer right into the towering waves and storms along with the divers. Several familiar, stalwart faces are on hand to help the boys become men and the men to accept aging gracefully, including John Heard, Clancy Brown, and Neal McDonough. Costner is perfect in a curmudgeonly role that fits him like a tailor-made wet suit. The real surprise is Kutcher, who seems to grow as an actor as his character grows as a person, revealing lots of murky depth. Bonnie Bramlet adds some sparkle as the singer at the local watering hole.

Theatrical Release: September 29, 2006

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English, French, Spanish
Subtitles - French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Alternate Ending With On-Camera Introduction - Andrew Davis - Director
Audio Commentary - Andrew Davis - Director
Featurette - 1. MAKING WAVES - The Making Of THE GUARDIAN
2. UNSUNG HEROES - Tribute To The Real-Life Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers

Kevin Costner: Oscar winning American actor, director, DANCES WITH WOLVES
Ashton Kutcher: Actor
Clancy Brown: American Character Actor
Sela Ward: American TV/Film Actress
Melissa Sagemiller: actress
Travis Willingham: American voice actor: FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (2004)
John Heard: American Actor, HOME ALONE (1990)
Neal McDonough: Actor
Bonnie Bramlett: Jazz/R&B/blues vocalist

Andrew Davis: Director, action thrillers, began as a Cinematographer

Beau Flynn: 
Tripp Vinson: Producer, AFTER THE SUNSET (2004)

Ron L. Brinkerhoff: Screenwriter, EYE SEE YOU (2002)

Trevor Rabin: Composer, formerly of YES

Dennis Virkler: Editor, CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK (2004)
Thomas J. Nordberg: Editor, RAY (2004)

"[A]n action movie, a basic training movie, a swaggering sea adventure, a home front melodrama and an inspiriting tough-love heroic fable."
3 stars out of 5 -- "[Kutcher] is running at full power throughout....There's real chemistry between Kutcher and Kev..."
"[Costner] brings a seasoned, low-key authority to the part....Kutcher's performance manages to keep pace with Fischer's growing maturity."
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] very watchable drama....The personal conflicts are complemented by some terrific action sequences..."