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The Guardian

The Guardian

Action · Adventure · Drama · 2006

A high school swim champion with a troubled past enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's 'A' School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall teaches him some hard lessons about loss, love, and self-sacrifice.

Movie details

The Guardian

“How do you decide who lives or who dies?”

2006 Action · Adventure · Drama 2h 19m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

A high school swim champion with a troubled past enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's 'A' School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall teaches him some hard lessons about loss, love, and self-sacrifice.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Guardian?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Andrew Davis

Written by

Ron L. Brinkerhoff

Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner

Ben Randall

Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher

Jake Fischer

Sela Ward

Sela Ward

Helen Randall

Melissa Sagemiller

Melissa Sagemiller

Emily Thomas

Dulé Hill

Dulé Hill

Ken Weatherly

Bryce Cass

Bryce Cass

Manny

Omari Hardwick

Omari Hardwick

Carl Billings

Court is in session

Put The Guardian on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.