It’s the most-anticipated movie opening in the Columbia-Pacific region since “The Ring 2.” The Coast Guard finally gets its due – and Astoria gets another on-screen nod – in the military drama, “The Guardian.”

The film stars Kevin Costner in one of his best-fitting roles ever: a veteran USCG rescue swimmer who gets assigned to an instructor position after losing the rest of his helicopter crew in a fiery accident at sea.

The middle-aged Costner then makes it his mission not just to teach his class of up-and-coming swimmers how to do their job, but to show them firsthand what they’ll be facing. Instead of lecturing in the classroom about the stages of hypothermia, he makes his recruits spend a couple of hours immersed to their necks in ice water so they really know what hypothermia feels like.

One of those recruits is Ashton Kutcher, a self-assured high school swimming star. Thankfully, Kutcher is no Tom Cruise in “Top Gun” – the movie’s promotional materials call him “cocky,” but his bravado is tempered by a loss in his past, as well.

Most of the film chronicles the training program Kutcher and his classmates undergo, and first-time screenwriter Ron L. Brinkerhoff creates some nice give-and-take between student and instructor Kutcher and Costner.

Unfortunately, the climax of their relationship, where defenses are stripped away and emotions are poured out, is the clumsiest scene in the movie. These guys were doing better in the training pool.

Sela Ward and Melissa Sagemiller add a couple more layers to the story as Costner’s ex-wife and Kutcher’s girlfriend. And Clancy Brown and John Heard, both recognizable character actors, stay discreet as their commanding officers.

And the rescue action? Gripping. With the aid of a giant wave tank invented for this movie, and not too much digital imagery, director Andrew Davis succeeds in creating a good deal of onscreen peril. The rugged locations used in some shots (including the rocky cliffs at Cape Disappointment, Wash.) also help with the illusion of reality.

The only aspect of the film that goes over the top is the script’s insistance that everything’s a metaphor. Drowning people = a floundering marriage. Rescuing some, leaving others behind = dealing with life’s experiences. And so on.

With “The Guardian,” Kevin Costner settles into the character he’s been trying to play all his life. And the boyish Kutcher gets to flex his charismatic talents within a humble, well-crafted role. If you’re a Coast Guard devotee, go see the movie for the uniforms and helicopters. If not … well, there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.