The Guardian (2006) - Andrew Davis' movie, about rescue swimmers in the US Coast Guard, features numerous scenes of Sikorsky HH-60 Jayhawk
helicopters on dangerous search and rescue missions. While in low hover above stormy seas, one SAR flight is hit by the stricken ship's cargo on
a high wave crest, which tears off the tail boom and forces the chopper to crash into the ocean and explode. A second Jayhawk arrives to pickup
the survivors. At USCG training base, there are shots of a Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin which taxis on the airfield. In the film's key action sequence,
the new team rescue two kayakers trapped by strong tides in a cave, displaying the Jayhawk against a rugged coastline. In the finale, our heroes
save crewmen from yet another sinking vessel, but lose the ship's captain and - rather too predictably - one of their own rescue swimmers. Although
it lacks any combat flying sequences, the production's use of actual US Coast Guard equipment and expert personnel makes all the film's dramas feel
authentic, and the helicopter rescues are far more convincing than the overuse of poorer quality CGI, which spoiled many action visuals in The
Perfect Storm.
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