Annapolis

D
Annapolis
Rated PG-13; Directed by Justin Lin; Starring James Franco, Tyrese Gibson, Jordan Brewster

I imagine the makers of “Annapolis” couldn’t make up their mind about a plot device. Should the rebellious hero learn to value himself by going through military academy or should he become all he can be by becoming a boxer? Wait! Let’s combine both! Yeah, a rebellious hero learns a valuable lesson and discovers the strength within by going to the naval academy AND competing in the academy boxing matches. Whoo hoo! Two plots for the price of one. Too bad both plots don’t add up to half a decent movie.

Jake Huard (James Marco) works on the naval dockyards building ships, but his dream has always been to go to Annapolis, the naval academy that he sees everyday from across the bay. He gets his chance, but he discovers it ain’t easy. His training commander, Cole (Tyrese Gibson) is a mean son of a…um…gun. Luckily, a pretty young officer (Jordana Brewster) who is also a trainer helps Jake survive the rigors of homework mixed with athletic drills. I don’t even want to figure out how many rules are broken when they get involved – some major chain of command and sexual harassment rules fall by the wayside in this hokey movie. Oh, there’s also the annual boxing competition called the Brigades. Any chance our hero gets the chance to meet up with Cole in the big match? Will his dad finally find respect for Jake? Any chance you’ll care by then?

“Annapolis” is a silly, predictable movie with not much to make it worthwhile except for the pretty shots of Annapolis. Well, unless, you just love military academy movies mixed with boxing flicks and can’t get enough of them.