POGO (PogoNeo) If you watch the trailer, it will be somewhat misleading, because the explosion of a ship does not really happen in the movie, among other things shown in the promo. But the bigger issue with this war academy movie is this: it has not enough soldier's life in it, while at the same time is has way too much sport in form of boxing, especially near the end. And also, like so many others pictures about men becoming soldiers (cops, firefighters, lifeguards etc.), it has a romance in it, panning to the female portion of the audience; which is a serious problem haunting not only the Hollywood film industry. Unfortunately in this case, Jordana Brewster is just not cut out from the same material as Demi "J.I. Jane" Moore and as such is not believable as an US Navy instructor. On the other hand, the rest of the cast probably could not be betterAlthough that extensive amount of boxing and preparation for the matches could also be viewed as a plus, because of them this "peacetime war" movie is not so typical as you could expect. And also the matches are presented not from A-to-Z way. For example from the second one only the finale is shown, with entertaining camera work; while in the third one there is this climax moment that is not the end of a fight, which is achieved by a slow motion technique in combination with extraordinary music of Brian Tyler. And that is another quality of this picture- the original score, with both nostalgic / love theme and energetic and not so classical-like action music. But on top of that, there is also very good music supervision, resulting in a a great usage of the song "Different Stars" by Trespassers William and "Born Too Slow" by The Crystal MethodAll in all, this is not a war epic nor a great movie, but simply a good execution of interesting story and characters, with the US Navy serving merely as a setup. And most definitely it is not that stupid and / or boring, as some negative user reviews from IMDb describe it

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a man who works for a naval shipyard. He dreams of getting into the naval academy, but finds it very tough after finally getting in against the odds.I haven't seen many films about navy in training, so this is pretty new for me. The story is very engaging because Jake has to endure multiple hardships, not only just his comparatively underprivileged background, his relative lack of ability, but also being pinpointed by his superiors along the training. It's a tough situation, but pure persistence and admirable determination keeps him going. The supporting characters are very interesting too. I really feel for the African American guy who is maliciously nicknamed Twins. His sad subplot brings tears to my eyes.I enjoyed the experience of watching "Annapolis". I simply have not expected it to be as touching and uplifting as it is.

wes-connors In the boxing ring, men flock to see hunky James Franco (as Jake S. Huard) strut his six-pack abs. He also works as a ship-welder for his father, but Mr. Franco would rather join the Navel Academy at "Annapolis". Franco gets his wish when Donnie Wahlberg (as Lieutenant Burton), a self-described "36-year-old out-of-shape lieutenant," who can be caught ogling Franco in the opening fight, pulls some strings to get Franco signed up. Franco, who "came straight here from high school," meets Tyrese Gibson (as Commander Cole) in the ring, makes goo-goo eyes at pretty superior officer Jordana Brewster (as Ali), and trains to be a better boxer.Other than seeing handsome Franco's bugling muscles, you may not think Justin Lin's "Annapolis" is worth watching. The story is ordinary to a fault, and clichéd beyond hope. But, it's not too poorly produced. And, you can see how supporting and featured players can make something out of an assignment - going to the head of the class is Vicellous Shannon (as Marcus "Twins" Nance), who does an exemplary job with his character. Sporting more fat than muscle, Mr. Shannon milks every drop out of his script, without overdoing it, and takes the title "Best Supporting Actor" in a film that will wasn't ever going to win any awards.**** Annapolis (1/27/06) Justin Lin ~ James Franco, Tyrese Gibson, Vicellous Shannon, Jordana Brewster

gixxerdave I don't have much new to say about this movie. I caught it on TV a few days ago after initially watching it when it came out on DVD.First, let me say, this is not a completely horrible movie (hence two stars). Its not a bad Sunday afternoon flick if you have absolutely nothing to do and/or can't change the channel on your TV and it happens to be on. But it is predictable and often boring, and James Franco's acting is pretty bad.What prompted me to write this is the absolutely ridiculous character of Cole as played by Tyrese Gibson. Others here have lauded Gibson's performance as a highlight of the film; I'd bet any amount of money none of these people had ever been in the military.I was in the Army for 6 years and was stationed on a variety of Army, Air Force, and Navy bases. I met and worked with hundreds, perhaps thousands of service members, and I can honestly say that not one of them 2was anything like Cole.Gibson has crafted a stunningly DULL and one-dimensional character in Cole. I get it, he is supposed to be intense, a hardened and serious Marine vet who is (God knows why) trying to become an officer.Do Gibson and the filmmakers think that people in the military are not supposed to have personalities? That they only have one expression? That they are completely unforgiving and seemingly without emotion? Hollywood depictions of the military are generally humorous to us veterans, but this is a new level of hilarity. My vet friends and I sometimes sit around and mock the cheesy dialog: "I WAS A SOLDIER FOR THREE YEARS AND I KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE A GOOD OFFICER." By the way, any REAL Marines who saw this movie would have cringed to hear that line. Marines are not soldiers. Marines are Marines. Soldiers are in the Army.For a real military movie that EVERYONE in the military loves, see FULL METAL JACKET. If you've already seen it, see it again rather than watching this garbage.