The Guardian is a
2006The year 2006 in film saw many new films released worldwide, including several major mainstream sequels, prequels, and remakes as well as original films.-Top grossing films:...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
starring
Kevin CostnerKevin Michael Costner is an American actor, musician, producer, and director. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Oscars and a Golden Globe Award. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
,
Ashton KutcherChristopher Ashton Kutcher is an American actor and former fashion model best known for playing Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
, and
Melissa SagemillerMelissa Sagemiller is an American television and film actress.-Early life and education:Sagemiller was born in Washington, D.C. to a political activist mother and a professional American football player father, who played in the NFL for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. She attended...
that was released on September 29, 2006. The film was directed by
Andrew DavisAndrew Davis is an American film director, producer and cinematographer, noted for the action films Code of Silence, The Fugitive, Chain Reaction, Collateral Damage and Under Siege....
, director of
The Fugitive. The
settingSetting may refer to:* A location where something is set* Set construction in theatrical scenery* Setting in literature* Stonesetting, in jewelry, when a diamond or gem is set into a frame or bed...
for the film is the
United States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of seven uniformed services. It is unique among the military branches in that it has a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set...
and their
Aviation Survival TechnicianAviation Survival Technicians are enlisted United States Coast Guard airborne "rescue swimmers".They are trained at the U.S. Coast Guard's enlisted Aviation Survival Technician/Rescue Swimmer school at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The course is 18 weeks long; more than...
(AST) program.
Plot
The plot follows
Senior Chief Petty OfficerU.S. Coast Guard
Senior Chief
Petty Officer
collar deviceU.S. Coast Guard
Senior Chief
Petty Officer
insignia
Good conduct
variation
Senior Chief
Petty Officer
insignia...
Ben Randall (
Kevin CostnerKevin Michael Costner is an American actor, musician, producer, and director. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Oscars and a Golden Globe Award. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
) and Jake Fischer (
Ashton KutcherChristopher Ashton Kutcher is an American actor and former fashion model best known for playing Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
) at the United States Coast Guard's
Aviation Survival TechnicianAviation Survival Technicians are enlisted United States Coast Guard airborne "rescue swimmers".They are trained at the U.S. Coast Guard's enlisted Aviation Survival Technician/Rescue Swimmer school at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The course is 18 weeks long; more than...
(AST) Program. Ben Randall is the top rescue swimmer who continues to work against regulation past the age of 40. Jake Fischer is a hot-shot candidate for AST who was ranked as a top competitive swimmer in high school with scholarships to every
Ivy leagueThe Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The term is most commonly used to refer to those eight schools considered as a group...
college and university, but opted to enlist in the Coast Guard instead in hopes of becoming an AST. The movie title is introduced by a mythic tale: People lost at sea often claim they feel a presence lifting them to the surface, breathing life into their bodies while they are waiting for help to arrive. They call this presence "The Guardian."
Ben, who has been juggling his home life and work as a Coast Guard
rescue swimmerThough the term rescue swimmer may be applied to any number of water rescue professionals, the term is most often applied to personnel in the Coast Guards, fire and rescue services and military branches....
, is confronted by his wife asking for a separation due to his frequent time at work. During the argument, he receives a page for an immediate rescue. Out at sea, he loses his rescue team in an HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter mishap, and while waiting in a survival raft, his best friend,
Chief Petty OfficerChief Petty Officer is a Non-commissioned officer or equivalent in many naval services and coast guards.-Canada:Chief Petty Officer refers to two ranks in the Canadian Navy...
Carl Billings, dies due to injury, cold, and shock. Additionally, Ben had placed a victim into the helicopter's rescue basket who was abruptly pulled under with the sinking helicopter and was never seen again. Shaken, he is forced to either retire or to teach at a Coast Guard training school to recompose in which he reluctantly chooses the latter. Here, Jake arrives as a hopeful AST candidate at the academy. Ben is considered a legend with a countless number of saves.
Ben goes against protocol as an instructor and teaches as he wills, while Jake is the usual arrogant, but good-hearted student. During the training, Jake meets a local schoolteacher, Emily Thomas, and begins a "casual" relationship, as they both know his time there is limited. Once the initial, grueling weeks of training are over, and more than half of the students dropped (the school's Commandant almost boasts of an attrition rate of more than 50%), detailed instruction begins at the academy.
After sleeping at his girlfriend’s house, Jake arrives late to class and is confronted by the waiting Ben. Unexpectedly, Jake is not dropped, although he is punished for his tardiness. Ben tries to force Jake into quitting, but he later sees his persistence and dedication. Meeting Emily in a bar, Jake tells her about him beating all of his instructor's, Ben Randall's, records. However, Maggie the barkeep, an old friend of Ben's, tells Jake of an unbreakable record: On a rescue at a ship fire, Ben worked tirelessly to save all the victims. With one man left and a broken winch, Randall held the man by his fingertips for the entire flight to land, resulting in extensive injuries to his hand and shoulder; a record that could never be broken. Jake is humbled.
That night, Jake and Emily are at her house and Jake proposes they go on a date. Emily denies the date with Jake to stick to their "casual relationship" but later gives in to the date and they sleep together again. Later, during instruction, Jake's friend Charlie Hodge is unable to cope with panicked victims in the water and is afraid of failing school, so Jake takes him out for a drink before his date with Emily to cheer him up. After ending up in a
NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
bar, they get involved in a fight and land in jail, leaving Jake's girlfriend stood up. Jake arrives back at base beaten and bandaged where he takes the blame entirely.
Ben confronts Jake as to why he left his prospects as a competitive swimmer to join the AST program, and tells Jake what he learned about Jake's past: on a late night out, Jake, the
designated driverThe terms "designated driver" and "designated driving" refer to selecting a person to remain sober, as the driver of a vehicle, while others are allowed to drink to excess . A designated driver is a person who abstains from alcohol on a social occasion in order to drive his/her companions home safely...
, got into an accidental automobile crash, resulting in the deaths of his high school relay team. After a moment of sorrow, Ben and Jake share common ground, now they both know how it feels like to be the only survivor. Jake asks what Ben’s real number of saves is; no answer is given. Instruction is nearing completion and Jake takes to the role of leader during exercises. At graduation only a handful of the original candidates remain. Emily comes to see her boyfriend graduate, but the two must say goodbye because Jake is leaving town. Jake and Emily find saying goodbye to each other overwhelming by sharing a hug and kiss, then they slowly walk away from each other.
Jake is assigned to CG Air Station Kodiak,
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
for protection of the
Bering SeaThe Bering Sea is a body of water in the Pacific Ocean that comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
, Randall’s post and the same post Jake wants to be assigned to in the first place. On a mission together they are sent to rescue two kayakers. Fischer enters the cave and lights a flare. This brings back painful memories as Ben flashes back to his crew's disaster. After rescuing the first victim Jake returns to find Ben locked up unable to move. Ben's victim had hit a log and had a head laceration, which reminded him of the night he lost his crew. Jake continues to rescue both the second victim and Ben. At this point Ben realizes he cannot continue. Against his commander's wishes he retires. Jake again asks Ben what the number is. Twenty-two is the answer, the number of people Ben couldn't save, the only number he kept track of. Finding his wife’s house, Ben goes in to apologize. He gives her the divorce papers and his wedding ring while they both act remorseful. Ben reveals that he has retired and slowly makes his way out. Ben returns to station to clear his office when he hears the radio chatter of a rescuer needed. Jake is to be sent to rescue four sailors trapped on a sinking vessel.
Three seamen are rescued while the ship's captain is trapped in the hull. While Jake refuses to leave the captain, the chopper leaves to refuel. Finally freeing the captain, the door to the room is sealed shut by water and debris. Trapped in the room the hull begins to fill with seawater. Moreover, waves hit the vessel, causing the captain to hit his head against a pipe.
In addition, an oxygen tank falls on the captain's body, killing him in the process. Ben Randall is the only rescue swimmer available to save Jake. He promptly begins to gather his gear. On scene, Ben is lowered onto the vessel. Getting snagged on the mast he is forced to unhook and climb down. At this point Jake has very little breathing room. Finding the sealed door, the water is released and Jake is freed. Back on deck they both hook to the rescue cable. Halfway up, the winch jams and the cable begins to unravel. Ben, realizing it can't hold both of them, unhooks and tries to fall. Jake catches and will not let him go, holding onto him by his glove simply saying, "I won't let go." Ben understandingly says, "I know." and unstraps his glove, plummeting from a fatal height into the ocean. Desperate to go in, Jake isn't allowed, as the only cable they have is broken and are afraid to lose Jake as well; the spotlights never see Ben resurface.
Then, Jake Fischer begins to narrate. "The Coast Guard conducted one of the largest search-and-rescue missions for a single man in its history, but the body of Senior Chief Ben Randall was never found. What makes a legend? Is it what someone did when they were alive... or how they're remembered after they're gone? Some people actually believe Senior Chief made the swim to the Aleutian Islands. He's standing on a distant beach somewhere with a fishing pole in his hand. But I found my answer a couple of weeks later..." Weeks later, Jake is again sent to rescue a man. Upon retrieval, the victim keeps asking where the other man is. Jake realizes that 'someone' helped him, staying with him until help came. "He never let go", the man said. Jake attributes this to Ben's presence and continues his narration. "There's a legend—of a man who lives beneath the sea. He's a fisher of men. A last hope for all those who have been left behind. He is known as The Guardian (Senior Chief Ben Randall). Ben Randall always said life is about making choices. In the end, by making his, he helped me make mine."
This narration Jake makes refers to being reunited with Emily for good. In saying so, he visits Emily at the elementary school she teaches at. Because her class was interrupted by Jake, Emily pauses her class, approaches him and asks, "What are you doing here?" Jake answers, "I lied to you—I can't do casual." There, Emily kisses Jake happily.
Cast
Many of the supporting actors, including ASTC instructors, helicopter pilots, and support personnel, are actual U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers, pilots, and ground personnel. Several characters, including Kutcher's, identify themselves as
AirmanAirman is a term used to refer to any enlisted personnel in the United States Air Force or Other Ranks in the Royal Air Force . It is also a specific rank in the United States Air Force. More informally, it can refer to any member of an air force or to any pilot or aviator, military or civilian...
. An Airman is the title and rank of an enlisted person whom is undesignated and/or currently undergoing training in an aviation related field. Similar ranks within the Coast Guard are those of
SeamanSeaman is one of the lowest ranks in a Navy. In the Commonwealth it is the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks....
and
FiremanFireman may refer to:* Firefighter, employed that is to extinguish fires and rescue people from harms way.* Fire Safety Officer, a senior ranking firefighter or Fire Safety Inspector in the UK...
.
One of the students was
Mark GangloffMark Gangloff is an American swimmer who earned a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics by swimming in the 4x100m medley relay preliminaries. He came in fourth place for the 100m breaststroke...
. He was an Olympic swimmer who received a gold medal in the Athens Olympic Games. *
Clancy BrownClarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor best known for his role as The Kurgan in Highlander, as well as for his voice roles as Lex Luthor in the DC Animated Universe and Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob SquarePants.-Early life:Brown was born in Urbana, Ohio...
"reprises" his role in
The Guardian as another "Captain Hadley" — in the movie adaptation of
Stephen King'sStephen Edwin King is an American writer of contemporary horror fiction, science fiction, fantasy literature, and screenplays. An estimated 300–350 million copies of King's novels and short story collections have been sold, and many of his stories have been adapted for film, television, and...
The Shawshank RedemptionThe Shawshank Redemption is a American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, loosely based on the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption...
, Brown played the chief of the prison's guards as Captain Byron Hadley.
- Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, musician, producer, and director. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Oscars and a Golden Globe Award. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
as Ben Randall
- Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher is an American actor and former fashion model best known for playing Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
as Jake Fischer
- Neal McDonough
-Life and career:McDonough was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, the son of Catherine and Frank McDonough, motel owners who emigrated from Ireland, with his mother coming from County Tipperary and his father from County Galway...
as Jack Skinner
- Melissa Sagemiller
Melissa Sagemiller is an American television and film actress.-Early life and education:Sagemiller was born in Washington, D.C. to a political activist mother and a professional American football player father, who played in the NFL for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. She attended...
as Emily Thomas
- Clancy Brown
Clarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor best known for his role as The Kurgan in Highlander, as well as for his voice roles as Lex Luthor in the DC Animated Universe and Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob SquarePants.-Early life:Brown was born in Urbana, Ohio...
as Captain William Hadley
- Brian Geraghty
Brian Timothy Geraghty is an American film and television actor.Geraghty was born in Toms River, New Jersey. He graduated from Toms River High School East in 1993 and then the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre before beginning his professional career in New York City; he later moved to Los...
as Billy Hodge
- Sela Ward
Sela Ann Ward is an American movie and television actress, perhaps best known for her television roles as the free-spirited "Teddy Reed" on the American TV series Sisters and the single mother Lily Manning on Once and Again .-Early life:Ward was born in Meridian, Mississippi, the oldest of four...
as Helen Randall
- Omari Hardwick as Carl Billings
- Michael Rady
Michael Rady is an American actor. He was born in Philadelphia and attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory School, a Jesuit Prep school in Philadelphia, well known for its excellent theatre program....
as Zingaro
- Peter Gail as Danny Doran
- Shelby Fenner as Cate Lindsey
- Damon Lipari as Bennett/ Damon Bennett
- Bonnie Bramlett
Bonnie Bramlett , is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music...
as Maggie McGlone
- John Heard as Capt. Frank Larson
- Dulé Hill
Karim Dulé Hill is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Josiah Bartlet's personal presidential aide Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series The West Wing, and as pharmaceutical salesman-turned-detective Burton "Gus" Guster on the USA Network television comedy-drama Psych...
as Ken Weatherly
- Joe Arquette
Joe Arquette is a Mexican-American actor starring in the title role in the feature G.I. Jesus. The film won the grand jury prize at the 2006 CineVegas Film Festival. He also appeared in the Kevin Costner film The Guardian....
as Co-Pilot Antunez
- Andrew Schanno as Pilot Henry Mitchell
- Tilky Jones as Tilky Flint
- Daniel Molthen as Richard Wakefield
Production
- The production company hired local contractors to build a massive indoor wave pool for production.
- Following the series of hurricanes in the southern United States
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
in 2005, production moved to ShreveportShreveport is the third-largest city and the principal city of the third largest metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Louisiana, as well as being the 99th-largest city in the United States....
, LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Some of the "base" scenes were filmed at Barksdale Air Force BaseBarksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force baselocated three nautical miles east of the central business district of Bossier City in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also ten miles east of Shreveport, Louisiana...
in Bossier City, LouisianaBossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 56,461. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River...
and also at Camp Minden in Minden, LouisianaMinden is a city in and the parish seat of Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
.
- The film was revised after Hurricane Katrina, with the addition of several comments on the storm and the rescues following. The end credits are replete with "glory" shots of U.S. Coast Guard helicopters conducting rescues in the greater New Orleans area. The DVD contains a special feature on U.S. Coast Guard rescue operations, especially in the aftermath of Katrina.
- Some of the scenes that were supposed to be filmed in Kodiak
Kodiak is one of 6 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island in Kodiak Island Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...
, AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
were filmed CG Air Station Elizabeth CityCoast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City is a United States Coast Guard air station located at Elizabeth City, North Carolina, along the Albemarle Sound. It is one of the busiest air stations in the Coast Guard, operating missions as far away as Greenland, the Azores and the Caribbean...
, North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
instead. 60,000 pounds of ice were needed on the set.
- The training pool used in the movie was LSU-Shreveport's natatorium
A natatorium is, strictly speaking, a structurally separate building containing a swimming pool. In Latin, a cella natatoria was a swimming pool in its own building; thus, the sense was much as now, although it is sometimes also used to refer to any indoor pool even if not housed in a dedicated...
.
- The 3D fluid effects (ocean surfaces, cresting waves, splashes, bow-spray, boat wakes, rain) were created by Flash Film Works in Hollywood with the expertise of Mark Stasiuk (RealFlow expert) at Fusion CI Studios in Los Angeles.
History
The mishap where Randall loses his crew is loosely based on an actual U.S. Coast Guard aviation mishap in Alaska. The aircraft was an
HH-3F PelicanThe HH-3 is a developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, which was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R. The HH-3 served in the United States Air Force as the CH-3C/E Sea King and the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, and with the United States Coast Guard as the HH-3F "Pelican". Its civilian...
(USCG variant of the Sea King), instead of the
HH-60J JayhawkThe Sikorsky HH-60J Jayhawk is a twin-engine medium-range search and rescue helicopter. It is based on the HH-60H Rescue Hawk, which is a special variant of the US Navy's SH-60 Seahawk helicopter. Besides SAR, the HH-60 is used for drug interdiction, cargo lift, and special operations...
(USCG variant of the Blackhawk/Seahawk) pictured in the movie.
http://www.check-six.com/Coast_Guard/7_Aug_1981_HH-3F_crash.htm
Alternate ending
In an alternate ending found on the DVD, Randall survives. As he unhooks and tries to fall, Jake again grabs him and vows not to let go. Instead of unstrapping his glove, Randall lets the cable pull them up and it breaks just as they get into the helicopter. This ending was added because some of the writers were worried that the original ending was too strong for viewers. Nonetheless, it was scrapped when Disney chairman,
Dick CookRichard W. "Dick" Cook is the former Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios. At the time of his separation from the company, he was the only remaining top Disney executive who had worked for the company since before Michael Eisner took charge in 1984...
applauded the original ending.
External links