Some movies are made to captivate an audience and make it feel truly moved. Others – like “Annapolis” – have some ingredients of a good movie, but trip over many hurdles and stumble through a potentially solid plot.
Jake Huard (played by James Franco) is a young man who is stuck following in his fathers footsteps. He spends his days building Navy ships with other blue-collar workers across the river from his home – but what Jake truly wants is to live out his dream of attending the United States Naval Academy. Jake is a stubborn kid and has to push his way into the academy, and continue to fight his way through it to gain the respect of his peers.
Along the way, Jake meets a multitude of new people while working through his troubled, past relationships. Jake’s relationships with his mother and father are hazy at best, as there is very little explained about why his father, Bill (Brian Goodman), is so hard on his son. There is also very little known about his relationship with his mother. Jake’s best friend at the shipyard, A.J. (Jim Parrack), supports whatever Jake decides to do, but their relationship moves nowhere beyond that.
Before his past relationships are fully explained, Jake begins a new life in the academy. All at once he is forced into a new way of life, full of rules and obedience. He meets a new girl, midshipman Ali (Jordana Brewster), who finds herself attracted to Jake in a similar fashion to that of Maverick and Charlie in “Top Gun.” The relationship adds nothing to the story and appears only to be a way for women to see the flirtatious side of Jake.
Jake’s relationship with his roommates at the academy bears more importance, as they prove to be both a burden and a blessing throughout the entire movie. Twins (Vicellous Reon Shannon), Loo (Roger Fan) and Estrada (Wilmer Calderon) all contribute to Jake’s successes and failures throughout most of the movie. Twins becomes Jake’s closest companion, but their relationship also seems eerily similar to that of Private Joker and Private Pyle in the classic movie “Full Metal Jacket.” While each roommate has problems of their own, they all realize that Jake’s ultimate success can only come through teamwork, even at the risk of their own failures.
Perhaps the most important relationship in the movie is Jake’s relationship to Midshipman Lt. Cole (Tyrese Gibson), who happens to be his company commander. Gibson gives a solid performance as the vocal, and very relentless commanding officer to Jake and the rest of his roommates. The relationship between Lt. Cole and Jake is constantly tested as both have their respective egos to protect.
The plot of the movie can be summed up very simply. Can Jake overcome his past and present problems, as well as his own ego, to succeed in the prestigious United States Naval Academy?
The holes in the plot of “Annapolis” are too wide to keep this movie on par with that of past military academy movies. Casting could have been better, as Franco is on the borderline of being too pretty to be believable.
That said, once the audience can get past his model-esque appearance, he does a decent job of selling his character. Gibson has the surprising standout performance, but cannot pull the movie out of its downfall. He is involved in too many clichés with Jake, reminiscent of just about every other movie in this genre.
The scenes in “Annapolis” become predictable, and the movie loses focus as it progresses. The end of the movie comes much too quickly as there is very little closure to Jake’s relationships with the other characters. One of the only surprises in “Annapolis” is that the climax of the movie occurs in a much different way than expected. “Annapolis” is entertaining, but only at its base level. Do not expect too much from the movie in terms of acting and script.
