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The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

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Annapolis (2006)

Rating: 1 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Same Old Drill

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Annapolis on DVD

Director Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow) enters his sophomore slump here. Playing like an artifact from screenplay school, Annapolis follows Jake Huard (James Franco), an anti-authoritarian misfit who barely gets into the U.S. Naval Academy. His predictable trouble includes flirting with the girl (Jordana Brewster) at a bar before discovering that she's a superior officer, and later trying out for the big boxing match. Annapolis rolls out the oldest, stalest chestnuts, including the father who doesn't understand, the tough company commander (Tyrese Gibson) who doesn't believe, and the tubby Plebe who can't quite make it. And while Lin's camera locks onto every clenching jaw muscle, he obliterates the fight footage with blurry close-ups and jagged cuts. It's a yawn.

Starring: James Franco, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Donnie Wahlberg, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Roger Fan, Wilmer Calderon, Chi McBride, Charles Napier
Written by: David Collard
Directed by: Justin Lin
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violence, sexual content and language
Running Time: 108 minutes
Date: January 27, 2006