Movie Review: Annapolis

Annapolis

I'd been seeing trailers for Annapolis at the theatre for the past several months, and it looked interesting. I like James Franco. I love military movies. On the surface, it made perfect sense for me to buy a ticket. Unfortunately, the surface was all that there was and Annapolis proved to be very shallow indeed.

Annapolis focuses on the trials and tribulations of a particular group of plebes (first year students) at the US Naval Academy which happens to be in Annapolis, Maryland. One of this year's plebes is the fractious Jake Huard (James Franco). Huard makes his living as a welder at a local shipyard where his father (Brian Goodman) is his boss. But the dream of his dead mother and of Huard himself since her death has been to be accepted at the Academy.

Though his grades aren't the greatest, his persistence lands him on a waiting list at the academy. And when some other students can't accept their commissions for whatever reason, Huard's name hits the top of the list. He's informed of his good fortune personally by the Academy's Lieutenant Commander Burton (Donnie Wahlberg) just a day before classes are due to begin.

The academy proves tougher than he'd imagined he'd imagined on many levels. Taking orders grates on him, particularly those from the man in charge of his unit. Cole (Tyrese Gibson) is a marine with combat experience, and he never lets the plebes in his charge forget it. The beautiful Ali (Jordana Brewster) is an upperclassman from whom he not only has to take orders but, because he is a first year student, is also off limits to him where off duty fraternization is concerned.

Meanwhile, Plebe Loo (Roger Fan) is incensed that Huard won't work harder nor will he accept help from those who might improve his academic standings. And the overweight plebe nicknamed "Twins" (Vicellous Reon Shannon) drags the unit down still further when he can't pass the rigorous physical challenges demanded of all of the students. Things are so bad, in fact, that Huard decides that he has no other option but to admit he can't handle the Academy and go back to shipbuilding. But for reasons all their own — some of them entirely selfish — there are others who don't want to let Huard take the easy way out.

Annapolis had some possibilities, virtually none of which were realized. In fact, the story itself had such gaping implausibilities that the movie was essentially doomed from the beginning. For example, there's a good deal of focus on Twins and his many problems. But Twins would never have been permitted Academy entry in the first place due to his patent lack of physical fitness. Jake, too, would likely have not been allowed in because his academics came nowhere near measuring up. With tens of thousands of applicants from which only a small percentage are selected, any waiting list would have been comprised of far more qualified candidates that these two men!

Adding insult to injury is a script that was so entirely predictable from the beginning that there were virtually no surprises of any kind and certainly no suspense. There were many intriguing glimpses at Huard's background, none of which were explained and some of which needed to be (and which could have added a good deal of interest if they had been). And while the editing was fine and the direction serviceable, there were a few instances of some terrible matte work that utterly destroyed the credibility of the location all together.

James Franco is a credible actor who did a fine job here, particularly in the case of some boxing scenes. With clever editing, the fights seemed at least plausible. Tyrese Gibson was tough as nails and clearly loved the Marines and his country. Jordana Brewster, while acting well enough, wasn't convincing as either potential officer material or even a woman who'd gone through an incredibly tough plebe year of her own. And the Brian Goodman was left with a few hostile lines and absolutely no clues to any of us why there was so much hostility between him and his onscreen son, and as such was two-dimensional at best.

I'd be more than a little interested to see a movie that takes me inside Annapolis — or West Point or the Air Force Academy. I have a great deal of respect for these institutions and even more for the men and women who come out of them. But Annapolis does them a disservice with its inaccuracies, and it insults its audience while it's at it. That, to me, seems a shame virtually any way you look at it.

POLITICAL NOTES: Surprisingly there was little here of a political nature. I would certainly hope the military was apolitical, but always fear that Hollywood will use such vehicles to make statements all its own. In this one instance, I can't fault the makers of Annapolis.

FAMILY SUITABILY: Annapolis is rated PG-13 for "some violence, sexual content, and language." I didn't find any of these things remotely problematic and think the rating might be a bit harsh based on those criteria. But as a story, I'm not entirely sure that anyone would find Annapolis to be particularly stimulating or interesting, either. I'm afraid I can't really recommend Annapolis for anyone of any age and that has nothing to do with the rating and everything to do with the storyline and an entirely lackluster script.