Movie Review: Annapolis

Annapolis (2006)

Directed by Justin Lin

Written by Dave Collard 

Starring James Franco, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese 

Release Date January 27th, 2006

Published January 27th, 2006 

Annapolis is a real anomaly as a film. On the surface it's the story of a lower class kid fighting his way into the toughest military academy in the country. However, on the way to being a coming of age story the film lapsed into a boxing movie? Huh? James Franco stars in Annapolis as Jake Huard a wrong side of the tracks kid working hard not to end up like his miserable father working forever in the Baltimore shipyards. Jake's dream is to get into the the Annapolis naval academy, literally across the tracks from where Jake is now.

After pestering a United States Senator for months on end Jake gets his shot at Annapolis but finds that his dream is not so easily achieved. On the one hand Jake meets Ali (Jordana Brewster) a superior officer who takes an immediate shine to him. On the other hand he runs smack dab into the toughest drill instructor since Louis Gossett Jr. in Lt. Cole (Tyrese Gibson) who hates Jake on sight. Cole picks on Jake from day one and when Jake shows an interest in the Academy boxing program Cole throws down the gauntlet, go one on one with the Lt. and maybe, just maybe, Jake will have a shot to survive Annapolis.

What! Where does boxing have anything to do with military service. What does boxing have to do with anything in Annapolis. Director Justin Lin and writer David Collard shift gears from coming of age story to rote sports movie for seemingly no reason. Well there may have been a reason, as indecipherable as it may seem. I think that Lin and Collard quickly realized that the coming of age stuff wasn't working. The romance between James Franco and Jordana Brewster was lifeless and limp leaving only the boxing scenes with any real juice, all provided by the fiery presence of Tyrese Gibson who deserves a far better film.

Yes, the film does get some steam from the boxing scenes thanks Franco's training sessions with the surprisingly effective Donny Wahlberg playing his mentor and trainer. Franco and Gibson have good chemistry in and out of the ring as well. What makes Annapolis too ridiculous for words are the faux drama of the coming of age portions of the film, Franco versus his downtrodden daddy plays like bad after school special stuff as Franco whines and moans and daddy says he's never gonna amount to anything, yada yada yada. These scenes are even more tedious than they sound.

Director Justin Lin has been in a tailspin since his exceptional debut feature Better Luck Tomorrow. While I must admit that he did more than competent work on Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, there is no arguing that films artistic merits or lack thereof. Annapolis is inexorable. A shiftless, rhythm less tone free snoozer of sports clichés and coming of age hokum. One of the worst films of 2006.