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So I went into The Guardian with the same frame of mind, throwing every piece of knowledge I had of Costner - post A Perfect World - out the window. In my mind, The Guardian was the follow up to Field of Dreams
- so I didn't go in thinking of Costner as a Hollywood joke, but
instead, ready to enjoy the next flick from "Clooney before there was
Clooney".
And you know what... The Guardian was awesome!
The
flick follows Costner as an aging US Coast Guard rescue swimmer who's
team is killed in a horrific rescue mission. Add to this, his wife
announcing that she wants out of the marriage, and you've got yourself
one emotional wreck. His commender gives him a choice -
quit or take a position as an instructor at a USCG training facility,
which he reluctantly accepts. From here the flick turns to the trials
and tribulations of the USCG Boot camp, where a young man with
unlimited potential (Ashton Kutcher) and a shady past peddles his
wares. From there we enter into the real life world and dramas of Coast
Guard rescue. While upon it's release at the cinemas (where the flick grossed a respectable, but not astounding, $50 million) many critisied The Guardian
for being nothing we haven't all seen before. It should be noted,
however, that while the action-teacher-student-hero flick is nothing
new (Top Gun, The Fugitive)
when they are made well (and this is) they are just as welcome to the
cinema landscape as any of the current crop of
"Coming-of-Age-Disfunctional-Family" Oscar contenders. The reason The Guardian
works so well - and it's one of the better of it's kind in the last few
years - can be attributed to some fantastic direction from Andrew Davis
(the man behind such solid outings as The Fugitive, Under Siege and A Perfect Murder).
Davis seems to know exactly where and when to place the beats of
action, emotion and intensity with such precsion, and the film is so
much stronger for it. Costner is - as always - very good, while
Kutcher seems a tad out of his depth at times in the Hollywood
blockbuster stakes. Melissa Sagemiller, Sela Ward and Neal McDonough
(playing the same 'Hard Arse with the heart of Gold' he did in Band of Brothers) round out the supporting cast nicely - however, the real star of the film is without doubt the sea. While
War films are a dime a dozen, such specialist fields of rescue only
really have one shot at a decent Hollywood outing. The fire brigade got
it right with Backdraft, while Blown Away
kind of ruined it for the bomb squad. So it's fantastic to see that
Davis gives the Coast Guard the proper treatment, made a touching and
thrilling flick, and ultimately does the real life heroes justice. Perhaps it's time we forgive Costner for his past foibles, because The Guardian is a return to form for the Oscar winner - and the action/adventure genre itself. EXTRAS
There
are some great extras on offer here. Most notably, one of the few times
an "Alternate Ending" option is warranted. It's a perfect example of
the power of the Hollywood studio system, but moreso, the power that story
and emotion can elicit. Add to this a series
of featurettes which follow everything from the extensive USCG boot
camp which the cast were made to go through, as well as a touching
piece on the real life CG heroes who work throughout the US (most of
which came to prominence during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina). A worthwhile package, and a thouroughly enjoyable film. Conclusion:
Movie 75% Extras: 70%
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