The Guardian is the inspiring story of a rescue swimmer and a legend, Ben Randall, played by Kevin Costner. After a tragic loss, Randall finds peace by making a lasting impact on the life of young Jake Fischer, a recruit with a torn past.   View Movie Trailer through IMDb.com

It is necesary to consider the moral and emotional nuances of the film, The Guardian. First, how do we categorize it? Is it in the same class with "Top Gun" as some say? I don’t think so.

Don’t be fooled by the military setting and intense action scenes in The Guardian, directed by Andrew Davis. Those things only make the movie superficially similar to "Top Gun" and many other films. Look at the characters and the development, their relationships, the hardships they overcome internally. The Guardian is psychologically powerful, complex, and, in the end, inspiring.

The Guardian, written by Ron L. Brinkerhoff, is also original in concept. The Guardian tells the story of a legend, Ben Randall, a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer. What makes Randall (Kenvin Costner) the best Rescue Swimmer is his unquestioning devotion to saving lives. He does not romanticize his job in the least. He has a practical understanding of what his job means. There is no glory nor are there any accolades in what he does.

A Rescue Swimmer gets meager pay, and if he’s lucky he comes home alive. In The Guardian, after the tragic loss caused by his misjudgement, Randall is reassigned to teach "A" School to train future US Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers. As Randall wakes up on his first day at "A" school, he takes four or five Codeines for pain, and then steps outside to be an unusual kind of teacher, making the recruits hold a push-up position for several minutes while he makes his rounds.

Enter Ashton Kutcher’s character, young Jake Fischer, nicknamed "Goldfish." He is a former high school swim champ with something to prove. We find out he carries an emotional burden from a past event and that he wears the name of his relay tem-mates tattoed on his arm just as he wears his grief in his heart and on his sleeve.

He has motivation for being at "A" school. Ignore the arrogance and swagger. Fischer desperately needs to come to terms with his past.

The second strand of interest in The Guardian is Randall’s dissolving marriage with his wife Helen. Randall is a doer, a saver of lives. Helen doesn’t need to be saved. Randall is married to the Coast Guard; he can only have one love. So Helen wants him, in her own words, to "let me go."

Meanwhile, Fischer is developing a relationship with local school teacher Emily Thomas. They dub it a "casual" relationship - it started out as a bet - but is it developing into something more?

At "A" School, Randall has much to teach Jake Fischer in The Guardian. He first breaks him down through grueling drills, personal remarks, and, finally, through an emotional scene in Randall's office in which Randall confronts Jake about his attitude. A new phase starts in their relationship. And then Jake, who starts out as a loner, learns about teamwork and helps a classmate, Hodge--who is failing at "A" school--to pass the crucial test of breaking a drowning swimmer's choke-hold. Randall, who knows what it’s like to live with the past, then teaches Jake to focus "on the ones he can save" and not be mired by thoughts of the ones he can't.

In The Guardian's other main thread, Randall faces Helen's request that he "let her go." In the end, Randall retires from rescue swimming, but not until he performs one final act of heroism which opens the way for Jake Fischer to live and act as he has learned to do. That is Randall's gift to him, as well.

If you stay for The Guardian's credits, you will see authentic footage of Hurricane Katrina rescue sequences, with beautiful shots of US Coast Guard helicopters in action. The footage is accompanied by a mixture of symphonic and hip-hop music that has a bright, positive tone. In response to the query, "Who is the hero of this movie?," (as if that is a mystery), I say it is both Randall and Jake Fischer, in addition, it is the men, women, and core values of the United States Coast Guard.

What motivates a Rescue Swimmer to risk his life for a living? It is not guilt nor grief. In The Guardian, Randall makes that very clear to Fischer. Guilt and grief are baggage that must be left behind. Is it stoicism? Resignation to the forces of nature, to being taken away by the raging sea? I don't think it is that, either.

It is a hopeful attitude and a desire for adventure. Compassion. A love for what you do. And a love to serve without receiving glory. That is why this movie is so inspiring. We can sometimes be whiny couch potatoes. Other times, we may display amazing acts of selflessness and humanity and daring bravado. As Goldfish says as to why he became a Rescue Swimmer, "My bull-riding career wasn't working out." So we can learn the same lessons of selfless humanity.

Extra Note: Ask yourself: How does Jake Fischer finally deal with his past?  What does Randall teach Jake?