The Guardian

Routine, Formulaic Fare, 27 January 2008

Author: gary-444 from United Kingdom


Now there is nothing wrong with the formulaic action film genre itself, and setting it amongst the Coastguards watching over the Bering Sea, seems like a nice variant. But sadly this picture never lifts its head above the routine, and the "officer and a Gentleman " references are crude and crass.

Kevin Costner pretty much sleep walks through the role of Ben Randall, the salty sea dog with a past,whilst Ashton Kutcher as Jake Fischer, the rough recruit sure to make good, excels.

The "training scenes" are so hackneyed and derivative of so many action and Vietnam films that they stumble to a conclusion bereft of originality or dramatic tension.The action scenes are fine, but there is a limit to what you can do with howling winds, cascading water, bodies bobbing up and down , and not much opportunity to drive dialogue.

At two hours, it just overstays its welcome, and is unlikely to be remembered by critics, or fans.