The Guardian
Added 2/4/2010
An aging USCG rescue swimmer's team is killed in a horrific rescue mission. Immediately prior to this terrible event, his wife also announced that she cannot take anymore. His first love is always the rescue mission. This leaves him an obviously emotional wreck. His commender gives him a choice - quit or take a position as an instructor at the USCG training facility in Louisiana. Reluctantly he takes the position. Moving into the school, he immediately increases the 18 week curriculum that routinely fails half of the people that attend. Here he meets a young man with unlimited potential, but with some secret that seems to hold him back as a team player. Delving into his past, links are found that make him a psychic twin to the older man. It's a story about a simple topic, illuminated in a way that brings the audience to a higher level of empathy than thought possible. That's what I think good film-making is and I for one am throughly impressed by this movie. This movie will earn your applause.
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The Guardian
Added 2/3/2010
the movie was great, but the dvd was damage so we could only watch part of the movie
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Go Coast Guard! I loved this movie... I've seen it at least 50 times!
Added 11/24/2009
I absolutely loved this movie. As a Red Cross disaster volunteer I witnessed the work of the Coast Guard during Kathrina and at many other disasters since. People don't hear about the Coast Guard much, but if you just think about their name... they have a lot to protect, all the time, not just when we are at war. I loved Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher is one of my favorites. I only wish they hadn't cut out so much of the movie and it would have been longer. I've watched this movie so many times that I wore out the first DVD. My son's dog ate my second copy so I'm purchasing a 3rd. Well worth watching and I've watched all of the Special Features including the Director's commentary. It was awesome too!
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Interesting drama with good performances by actors
Added 7/27/2009
Summary: (from Seattle Public Library)
"An aging United States Coast Guard rescue swimmer's team is killed in a horrific rescue mission. Just prior to this same mission his wife announces that she cannot take anymore. This leaves him an emotional wreck. His commander gives him a choice - quit or take a position as an instructor at the USCG training facility in Louisiana. Reluctantly he takes the position and moves into the school. Once there he immediately increases the 18 week curriculum that routinely fails half of the people that attend. He meets a young man with unlimited potential, but with some secret that seems to hold him back as a team player . . . "
Costner stars as the reluctant yet strenous instructor who mentors Kutchner portraying the hotshot trainee.
Good movie yet the ending is not exactly what some viewers may be expecting. Makes you appreciate the Coast Guard though. :)
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That others may live
Added 7/9/2009
As others have doubtlessly pointed out, there are some genuine parallels between the present movie and the 1980s Top Gun (Widescreen Special Collector's Edition). Like TG, it is about a grizzled veteran (portrayed by Kevin Costner) who is attempting to teach a young hot-shot (Ashton Kutcher) (in TG it was Tom Skeritt & Tom Cruise in these roles). There is the ubiquitous babe-in-the-bar-bet (this time played by Melissa Sagemiller; Kelly McGillis in TG). And, of course, there are the haunting flashbacks to a disaster.
That said, anyone who wishes to write this movie off as nothing more than the Coast Guard's version of TOP GUN would be sorely mistaken. This is a great movie in its own right, and the comparisons to the landmark Navy aviation flick should only be peripheral. In short, this is a terrific story that both intrigues the viewer as well as demonstrates the awe inspiring professionalism of the United States Coast Guard.
Unlike TG, this is a movie that's much more about the instructor (Costner) than it is the student. Afraid that he is on the verge of being washed up, a legendary Senior Chief takes a temporary assignment to teach a new generation of rescue swimmers. Among them is a Michael Phelps like swimmer (Kutcher) who has all the physical tools but needs to be shown the ropes of the craft.
Having watched Deadliest Catch - Seasons 1, 2, & 3 on the HISTORY Channel, I could tell that there was a remarkable degree of authenticity to the procedures / terminology / operations of the Coast Guard as they were depicted in this film. The end credits showed what I had suspected, which was that there was a great deal of collaboration with the Coast Guard during the making of this film. Some real-live USCG swimmers were even extras in the film!
The motto of the Coast Guard is "So others may live." This is precisely the same motto used by the brave Air Force parajumpers who go behind enemy lines to rescue downed pilots. This is a truly fabulous movie that is family friendly and pays homage to the gallant sailors, airmen & swimmers who are in the Coast Guard & uphold this motto as a sacred trust. This film honors the USCG in the same way that Ladder 49 (Widescreen Edition) honors firefighters. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough!
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The Guardian
Added 2/4/2010
An aging USCG rescue swimmer's team is killed in a horrific rescue mission. Immediately prior to this terrible event, his wife also announced that she cannot take anymore. His first love is always the rescue mission. This leaves him an obviously emotional wreck. His commender gives him a choice - quit or take a position as an instructor at the USCG training facility in Louisiana. Reluctantly he takes the position. Moving into the school, he immediately increases the 18 week curriculum that routinely fails half of the people that attend. Here he meets a young man with unlimited potential, but with some secret that seems to hold him back as a team player. Delving into his past, links are found that make him a psychic twin to the older man. It's a story about a simple topic, illuminated in a way that brings the audience to a higher level of empathy than thought possible. That's what I think good film-making is and I for one am throughly impressed by this movie. This movie will earn your applause.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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The Guardian
Added 2/3/2010
the movie was great, but the dvd was damage so we could only watch part of the movie
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Go Coast Guard! I loved this movie... I've seen it at least 50 times!
Added 11/24/2009
I absolutely loved this movie. As a Red Cross disaster volunteer I witnessed the work of the Coast Guard during Kathrina and at many other disasters since. People don't hear about the Coast Guard much, but if you just think about their name... they have a lot to protect, all the time, not just when we are at war. I loved Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher is one of my favorites. I only wish they hadn't cut out so much of the movie and it would have been longer. I've watched this movie so many times that I wore out the first DVD. My son's dog ate my second copy so I'm purchasing a 3rd. Well worth watching and I've watched all of the Special Features including the Director's commentary. It was awesome too!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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