The Guardian Reviews

Flawed but ok.

This film should have ended thirty minutes before it did. However first two thirds make great watching, then methinks the scriptwriter went on a little bender!

I was hooked within 5 minutes

I went to an advance screening of this movie thinking I was about to embark on 120 minutes of cheezy lines, mindless plot, and the kind of nauseous acting that made 'The Postman' one of the most malignant displays of cinematic blundering of our time. But I was shocked. Shocked to find a film starring Costner that appealed to the soul of the audience. Shocked that Ashton Kutcher could act in such a serious role. Shocked that a film starring both actually engaged and captured my own emotions. Not since 'Robin Hood' have I seen this Costner: full of depth and complex emotion. Kutcher seems to have tweaked the serious acting he played with in 'Butterfly Effect'. These two actors came into this film with a serious, focused attitude that shone through in what I thought was one of the best films I've seen this year. No, its not an Oscar worthy movie. It's not an epic, or a profound social commentary film. Rather, its a story about a simple topic, illuminated in a way that brings that 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 work. Bravo!

Bah, it's 60hrs long.

I liked this movie much more when it was called 'Top Gun', they should have called it 'Top Fish'. Kevin Costner is a man who lives his work. Ashton Kutwhatever it is is the new kid who wants to break all the records, ohh ahh, big shock they both have pasts, they eventually get along and work as a team.

It's about 60hrs long, boring, obvious, characters appear and disappear for no apparent reason. If you are mildly curious then just wait for it to come on TV or watch Top Gun, much better and half as long.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Enjoyable and Entertaining

The Guardian won't win any oscars but is very enjoyable and easy to watch. It is like Top Gun but the cadets are less irritating and the characters more believable. The film is well shot and the Ocean/helicopter scenes are spectacular. Kevin Costner performs well and pulls it off as a trainer and life saver. The sound is also worth a mention, make sure you watch this in surround sound to get that extra dimension. Overall a recommended film that is certainly worth adding to your rental list.

surprised!

I went along after not being able to get into casino royale! didnt expect much and was very surprised, i thought the film was excellent... well worth watching.

Enjoyable

I am not a great fan of Kutcher or Costner but put this on my list because of a preview I saw.

All in all a very enjoyable film, and if you liked Top Gun you will like this because it is Top Gun based on the Coastgaurd.

Kutcher falls in love as did Cruise and becomes the big hero at the end.

If you can put up with and enjoy the American over the top films I would reccomend you watch this. If not avoid.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Surprisingly quite reasonable !

We didn't expect much from this, thinking it would probably be monotonus - and we really did not like 'Perfect Storm' which seemed to have the same feel as this one. However a friend recommended this, and we sat down waiting to be bored - 'Guys jump into water, rescue guys, get upstarts that turn into buddies, buddies get into trouble - rescue buddies - pat each other on the back'. etc... But guess what - we jumped in with both feet and even though it was a bit predictable, it did have a reasonable amount to it and ran along pretty well. Would not say it should be the film you stop everything for on a friday night with a glass of your favourite - but nevertheless, it is more worthy of a rent than first meets the eye.

Chick Flick meets Action Movie

If you liked Top Gun or An Officer & A Gentleman, you will like this.

It really gets into the challenges and dangers faced by the coastguard and shows you how much they risk their lives, but is realistic enough to show there is not always a happy ending to each rescue.

Excellent acting from both Kevin Kostner and Ashton Kutcher makes it really worth a watch.

It's a bit of a chick flick for the romance and also a bit of an action movie for boys so should please everyone

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eye opener

I loved this film. My lad was sat on the edge of the sofa, i kept telling him to move!

The Story centers on kevin costner who, after a rescue mission goes wrong is sent back to the classroom to teach the new recruits. His methods test the recruits both physically and mentally. It had a 'top gun' feel to this film but, for me i like this one better.

The new recruit ( ashton ) wants to break all records held by costner, but he has his own demons to face. I guessed how the film would pan out but i was still engrossed!

better than you might think

Slightly cheesey but alot better than you would expect. I watched this twice, once with my teenage son and once with my 11 year old daughter. They both really enjoyed it so a welcome change from the usual diet of scifi/action or rom coms they usually pick