If you are looking for an action drama in which the main characters are forced to overcome both internal and external obstacles to reach their dreams then look no further than the recently released (September 2006) movie, The Guardian, staring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher.

This is the story of the training of the U.S. Coast Guard's rescue swimmers. These are men and women who jump from Coast Guard rescue helicopters into stormy seas to rescue stranded seafarers. The job is very dangerous with swimmers having to jump, without a parachute, from helicopters hovering at heights of up to 50 feet above the water's surface. As if that wasn't enough, the rescues are usually done in the midst of violent storms and into seas strewn with the wreckage of a ship. Skill, strength, a cool head, team work and courage are all needed in great quantities.

After being told, upon entering the school, that only about 50% or fewer of them will complete the course, the recruits are immediately put to the test as the program is designed to weed out all but the best. However, like most other military training, the best are not always the strongest, smartest or most courageous. Teamwork is key to the success of the rescue mission. Ego and preoccupation with oneself puts the team and victims at risk and, therefore, cannot be tolerated.

Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) enters the school as an ideal candidate, being strong, smart and a high school championship swimmer. However, he is also cocky and trying to become a rescue swimmer to compensate for a secret failing in his past. Teamwork is definitely not his thing, but his endurance, strength and skill enable him to hold on and remain in the program.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) is a giant among rescue swimmers. He is probably the most daring and most skilled of all of the Coast Guard's rescue swimmers. But he has recently suffered physical and emotional injuries and is sent to the rescue swimmer school as an instructor while he recuperates. Randall and Fischer clash on their first meeting and their relationship remains rocky through a good part of the training. Fischer takes all Randall can give and, as each come to realize they can't dominate the other, they slowly begin to respect each other. Gradually Randall begins to see Fischer not as the ego obsessed loner he projects to the world but rather as a diamond in the rough who has the potential to be a great rescue swimmer. It is this master / apprentice relationship and the personal growth of each man that gives the movie its emotional impact. With the addition of plenty of action, courtesy of Mother Nature, this is a first rate movie to be enjoyed by all.