Annapolis

Annapolis is a film about the infamous plebe year at the Naval Academy. Actually, that was the film I was hoping for, was led to believe it was from the trailer, and even the DVD box (both the pictures and the text). See the poster above? I don't see any boxing gloves anywhere...

The film that I actually watched could have been better named "Boxing at Annapolis." Rather than showing us the rigorous academics that goes into making a naval (or marine) officer, a majority of time goes into the boxing at the school. This is known as "The Brigades" where classmen of any year get the opportunity to slug it out against each other.

Annapolis strongly reminded me of An Officer and a Gentleman, and next month's release, The Guardian. There are themes of pushing your abilities to the max, restraining yourself against overbearing leadership, and persisting in what you believe in, even when others have given up.

The movie needed to show more of the personal side of the struggle. For example, most of the deleted scenes shouldn't have been cut as they reveal the strained relationship between our protagonist, James Franco, and his aloof father.

Based on my expectations, I was a little disappointed, and felt a little duped. The nonboxing portions are very good, however the boxing scenes dominate the film. If you set your sights lower, and want to see some amateur boxing, you'll enjoy Annapolis a lot more.

Overall Grade: B

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