This is a great movie. You will get your money’s worth.

What about the “PG-13” Rating?

It was great to see a film of this type that went for a PG-13. I wish more would. Some films have something vulgar that needs expressing and any attempts to soft peddle it can offend me as much as when it’s wedged in where it doesn’t belong. There really wasn’t anything vulgar in the story line that needed expressing. We might expect military men to have course language but it wouldn’t have added to this film so they wisely left it out. There is 1 “F-bomb” which fits the scene and belongs there.

The female characters, played by Sela Ward and Shelby Fenner, add to the film but are ancillary to the message of this film. Excessive “love scenes” wouldn’t have added to the film. The romance, if you can call it that, between Kutcher’s character and Fenner’s is about what you’d expect from Hollywood and not an ideal, but it may well resonate with many in the 18 to 26 age bracket. It had a stolen from top gun feel to it, but in the end I’m ok with it.

What if I hate Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher?

Costner seems kinda hit and miss with his films. This is definitely a good film for him. The character of Ben Randall needed to be human and super human at the same time and Costner pulls that off.

Ashton Kutcher is rarely phenomenal in his films, in my opinion. I believe his best work was in “The Butterfly Effect,” but this is definitely his second best work. His acting doesn’t detract from the film.

I think the best acting in the film was by, Justin Roberts, Scott Mueller, and Omari Hardwick.

Larger Story

As a story it’s all about mentorship and forgiveness, making amends and risking your life to save others. There are allusions to being a fisher of men etc. that stand out, and some less overt aspects, like that Kutcher’s character’s name was Jake Fischer. I love the Coast Guard motto, “that others may live.” That makes a great motto for any Christian if you simply capitalize the L in Live.

If you’re like me and you like your movie to resonate with God’s story there are some scenes in this movie that you will love.