Released in late September 2006, and directed by Andrew Davis - this $80-million dollar
film only earned $15-million in profit.
Kevin Costner and Aston Kutcher star in this action-adventure drama film that focuses on
the life and training of the United State Coast Guard's elite rescue swimming team.
Neal McDonough, Melissa Sagemiller, and Clancy Brown round out the supporting cast with commendable
contributions, but the real focus on this picture is Costner and Kutcher.
Costner is an extremely proficient rescue diver, capable of saving everything but his
failing marriage.
Whereas Kutchner is the hot-shot trainee more focused on breaking swimming records than
saving lives.
Both men are brilliant in their respective teacher / student roles, bouncing off each
other with charged performances, especially in one emotional scene where Costner opens
up about his troubled past, advising his protégé, " Save the ones you can.
The rest, you've got to let go."
Bookended by positively thrilling rescue-sequences on the turbulent seas in the Gulf of Alaska,
the majority of the picture is your typical "boot camp" story...
as we watch a group of promising cadets go through every test of endurance and skill
to prove their readiness, as only 280 make the cut from a pool of 39,000.
The 139-minute feature doesn't break any new ground during this middle-portion, but it's
competently executed with effective use of Trevor Rabin's hory-heavy score and some brisk
editing.
With one lone exception however, the requisite training montage was stylistically, but curiously,
filmed on low-definition video.
An impressive chunk of the water scenes were filmed in a giant indoor pool built specially
for this production...
but its incorporation is so flawless, you never notice.
The pacing of this picture never feels slow, but it does seem to contain a bit too much
story for its own good, the middle training academy portion honestly could have been its
own standalone movie.
What "Top Gun" is to fighter pilots, this fun and re-watchable experience is to the
US Coast Guard.
The PG-13 rated adventure is capped off with a beautifully resounding epilogue that definitely
stayed with me.
Although fairly predictable and formulaic, this is a wonderful film that will make you
laugh, cry, and of course, appreciate the real men and women who serve around the world.
The Guardian", "Long-winded, but occasionally inspiring."
Here's my final score... a SEVEN.
Although fairly contrived and familiar, this picture definitely works, least of all because
of its talented lead actors - I thought it was COOL.