Annapolis
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.
Directed by
Justin Lin
Genres
Drama, Sport
Cast
James Franco, Jake Huard, Donnie Wahlberg, Jordana Brewster, McCaleb Burnett, Chi McBride, Wilmer Calderon, Jimmy Yi Fu Li, Macka Foley, Jim Parrack
We watched this movie on DVD last Saturday night. From what littler I know about the Naval Academy, it was VERY unrealistic, and had none of the scenes in the trailer.
Jake Huard (James Franco) is a young man from a poor family who wins admission to the Annapolis Naval Academy, but finds it tougher than he thought when he finds himself facing a superior officer (Tyrese Gibson) in the Navy boxing competition.
The story is very similar to An Officer and a Gentlemen and there really isn’t much of a difference between those two films. Still, Annapolis could have been an entertaining popcorn flick. Unfortunately, its dull and very generic. Almost every scene plays like a scene from a better movie. There is no creativity to be found here at all. It’s an empty movie and it has very little to offer. The premise may have seemed like a good idea on paper but it sure didn’t turn out that way. It’s no surprise that it was released in January.
The acting is not very good and it brings the film down quite a bit. James Franco is an okay actor but I don’t think he’s good enough to be a leading man. He just doesn’t have what it takes and this film proves it. Jordana Brewster gives an awful performance as Ali. She’s very pretty but she can’t act at all. Tyrese Gibson can be a good actor when he wants to be, like in Four Brothers. Here, he gives a bland, unconvincing performance and he seemed to be reading from the cue cards the entire time. The rest of the cast isn’t very good but it’s these three that should have carried the film.