Annapolis (2006)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Justin Lin

Writer (WGA):

David Collard (written by)

Release Date:

27 January 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

50,000 Apply. 1,200 Are Accepted. Only The Best Survive.

Plot:

Set against the backdrop of boxing at the Naval Academy, centers on a young man from the wrong side of the tracks whose dream of attending Annapolis becomes a reality.

Plot Keywords:

Shipyard | Boxing | Roommate | U.S. Naval Academy | Annapolis Maryland

Cast

James Franco	...	Jake Huard
Macka Foley	...	Ref
Jim Parrack	...	AJ
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Lt. Burton
Brian Goodman	...	Bill Huard
Billy Finnigan	...	Kevin
Jordana Brewster	...	Ali
Katie Hein	...	Risa
Jimmy Lin	...	Midshipman Lin (as Jimmy Yi Fu Lin)
Charles Napier	...	Supt. Carter
Heather Henderson	...	Daniels
Vicellous Reon Shannon	...	Twins (as Vicellous Shannon)
Roger Fan	...	Loo
McCaleb Burnett	...	Whitaker
Wilmer Calderon	...	Estrada

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #42109) | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Iceland:L | New Zealand:M | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

This picture was made without the support of the U.S. Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the opening training seen when Nance is commanded to lock his elbows, while holding a rifle above his head, he responds with, "Ma'am, alright ma'am," which as a plebe is strictly forbidden. He would only have been permitted to say, " Ma'am, Yes ma'am.

Quotes:

Ali: She's what's getting you through?
Jake Huard: Well, she's what got me here. But she's not the one who's getting me through.

Movie Connections:

References "Dr. Phil" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Nowhere Ride

This is better than expected, but that's not saying much....

Going into 'Annapolis, I thought I was going to be put to sleep by 2 hours of Navy promotion and boring clichés that went out of style years ago. I got that, but 'Annapolis' is better than my expectations suggested. That's not to say its a good movie; it's just not terrible.

The reason it is not terrible is a portion of the cast. James Franco manages to overcome his poorly written, formulaic lead with his hard-edged brand of acting. Vicellous Shannon has an effective supporting role as Twins, an overweight black man from Arkansas. His hometown, he explains, is counting on him to survive and pass the year. This is an unexpectedly touching subplot, and I was surprised it worked. Donnie Wahlberg and Chi McBride have good supporting roles, and many of the anonymous students are portrayed convincingly.

Unfortunately, the production is let down by three factors: The script, Tyrese Gibson, and Jordana Brewster. The script is, well, horrific. While its nice to see military students cuss, some of the racist and sexist remarks are extremely out of place. The script is a tireless formula that simply will not go away (and I don't think I need to name said formula). Next offender: Tyrese Gibson. Tyrese is not a bad actor, but the aforementioned terrible script seems to have made him think he needed to imitate R. Lee Ermey. He does this with the subtlety of a jackhammer. Last, but not least, Jordana Brewster. I simply do not believe for one second she is a Navy Midshipman. The romance between her and Franco is laugh-inducing, and completely unrealistic (how many times have I heard military students aren't allowed to fraternize?).

While it's not the disaster I expected, 'Annapolis' still earns my dislike. There's good stuff, but not enough.