Coming off of last year's dramatic role as an alcoholic ex-baseball player in "The Upside Of Anger," Kevin Costner again goes for the serious, this time as an aging U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer training a group of raw recruits, including pretty boy Ashton Kutcher ("The Butterfly Effect," "Guess Who?," and the MTV series "Punk'd").
As a rare cinematic homage to the USCG, it's an interesting monument; as a mentoring film, it falls between "An Officer and a Gentlemen" and "Heartbreak Ridge." In fact, it borrows heavily from both, and liberally pickpockets from "Top Gun," "Full Metal Jacket," "Gomer Pyle, USMC" and a little bit of Ron Howard's "Backdraft," as well.
This doesn't mean watching it is a negative experience, just one we've seen much of it before. Thank goodness director Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive," "Holes") appropriates the good parts of other movies, leaving most of the garbage behind.
Plotwise, Senior Chief Petty Officer Ben Randall, an icon among USCG lifesavers, moans and groans, chews pain pills and watches as his wife, Helen (Sela Ward, "Day After Tomorrow," TV series "House"), walks out on him. He's a hero, though, and heroes always hurt the ones they love - all in the call of duty.
He's still the best in his outfit, though, putting himself in harm's way to pull mostly undeserving people from sinking private craft and fishing boats, he earns a reputation as one of the branches most prolific rescuers.
But because his profession has caused the dissolution of his marriage, he threatens to quit the service. He is ultimately persuaded by his C.O. (Clancy Brown, "The Shawshank Redemption") to transfer from Kodiak, Alaska to Florida and train a bunch of rescue swimmer wanna-bes, including macho Jake Fischer (Kutcher).
During these scenes, we get to see an update of the old "tough-as-nails-instructor-with-the-heart-of-gold" cliché we've seen a dozen times.
Thankfully, a few new angles are thrown into the mix and we avoid a lot of past movie pitfalls. For example, we're introduced to a muscle-bound Brandon Molale ("Mission: Impossible 3"), who leads us to believe he will be a major antagonist, but is soon booted out; other characters appear and then leave the scene, just as in real military training situations.
Ultimately, though, it's the relationship between Randall and Fischer that moves to the forefront. The latter believing he is ordained to be a great rescuer because of his high school swim team credentials; the former, realizing the kid's potential, but also trying to knock the arrogant punk down a few notches.
Eventually, upon graduation, a plot convenience allows both men to be stationed in Alaska, where a concluding storm and sinking of a fishing boat allows one of the men to pull off the ultimate sacrifice, a la "Backdraft." Overall, an above-average effort with some nice effects and beautiful scenery that is our 49th state, with decent performances from the two leads; although Kutcher tends to get a bit sappy, at times.
As a rare cinematic homage to the USCG, it's an interesting monument; as a mentoring film, it falls between "An Officer and a Gentlemen" and "Heartbreak Ridge." In fact, it borrows heavily from both, and liberally pickpockets from "Top Gun," "Full Metal Jacket," "Gomer Pyle, USMC" and a little bit of Ron Howard's "Backdraft," as well.
This doesn't mean watching it is a negative experience, just one we've seen much of it before. Thank goodness director Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive," "Holes") appropriates the good parts of other movies, leaving most of the garbage behind.
Plotwise, Senior Chief Petty Officer Ben Randall, an icon among USCG lifesavers, moans and groans, chews pain pills and watches as his wife, Helen (Sela Ward, "Day After Tomorrow," TV series "House"), walks out on him. He's a hero, though, and heroes always hurt the ones they love - all in the call of duty.
He's still the best in his outfit, though, putting himself in harm's way to pull mostly undeserving people from sinking private craft and fishing boats, he earns a reputation as one of the branches most prolific rescuers.
But because his profession has caused the dissolution of his marriage, he threatens to quit the service. He is ultimately persuaded by his C.O. (Clancy Brown, "The Shawshank Redemption") to transfer from Kodiak, Alaska to Florida and train a bunch of rescue swimmer wanna-bes, including macho Jake Fischer (Kutcher).
During these scenes, we get to see an update of the old "tough-as-nails-instructor-with-the-heart-of-gold" cliché we've seen a dozen times.
Thankfully, a few new angles are thrown into the mix and we avoid a lot of past movie pitfalls. For example, we're introduced to a muscle-bound Brandon Molale ("Mission: Impossible 3"), who leads us to believe he will be a major antagonist, but is soon booted out; other characters appear and then leave the scene, just as in real military training situations.
Ultimately, though, it's the relationship between Randall and Fischer that moves to the forefront. The latter believing he is ordained to be a great rescuer because of his high school swim team credentials; the former, realizing the kid's potential, but also trying to knock the arrogant punk down a few notches.
Eventually, upon graduation, a plot convenience allows both men to be stationed in Alaska, where a concluding storm and sinking of a fishing boat allows one of the men to pull off the ultimate sacrifice, a la "Backdraft." Overall, an above-average effort with some nice effects and beautiful scenery that is our 49th state, with decent performances from the two leads; although Kutcher tends to get a bit sappy, at times.