When a man sitting next to me on the bus overheard me telling a friend that I would be reviewing Annapolis, he warned me that the movie was going to "dramatize something completely mundane." Slightly shocked by his unexpected interference, I didn't have time to form a reply by the time he got off the bus, but upon further examination of the situation, it occurred to me that most movies are dramatizations of something completely mundane. To add to this, the movie in question follows a few young men as they go through their "plebe" (first) year at the Naval Academy located at the film's namesake, which is really not mundane at all – plebe year is notorious for being hellish every day, all day. And so, I walked into the movie with a completely open mind, unburdened by bus-boy's pretentious comment.

Annapolis tells the story of an underdog recruit whose entire life has been focused on joining the Navy and fighting for his country. James Franco (Spiderman, Tristan and Isolde) stars as Jake Huard, an unsupported but determined young man whose father has worked as a Navy shipbuilder his entire life. After aspiring to be a marine for some time, Huard is finally enrolled in the United States Naval Academy, after initially being waitlisted, where he faces challenges to his mind and spirit. His main opponent is Lieutenant Cole (Four Brothers' Tyrese Gibson), one of his superiors in the academy. Jake sets out to prove his worth as a member of the academy, and also to win the academy's annual boxing tournament, where Cole is the reigning champion.

Although the script is weak and almost overwhelmingly clichéd, the movie does what it intends to do: encourage the audience to root for Jake to succeed in the academy, glorify the Navy, and present a well-rounded tale of a handsome young man overcoming his life's burdens and insecurities. It certainly helps that Franco, 27, is not exactly hard on the eyes, especially with the five months of boxing training and rigorous workouts the role required. Franco's interaction with Jordana Brewster's character, Ally, adds a romantic dynamic to the film that seems slightly superfluous but still creates a storyline that may make the film more appealing to its sentimental audience. For others, it may add exactly what is needed to render the film completely and utterly formulaic, but Brewster's portrayal of a strong-but-cute officer is generally appealing to female viewers overwhelmed by the masculine tone of the movie.

The extensive boxing footage is sometimes burdensome but still fun to watch; Huard's entire training (including midnight sessions and the prerequisite montage) is shown right up to his final match. One might not expect sports to be such a huge part of this film, but in fact Huard's aspirations to be a great boxer seem to be a main focus of the plot. According to the Naval Academy's website, boxing isn't a focus of the physical education curriculum until a midshipman's third year at the academy, but for the purpose of the movie, this skill is taught earlier on.

Annapolis has been released at a particularly convenient time when America's troops are overseas and our armed services need more young men and women to enlist. Not only does the film encourage the idea that females should join up, it certainly glorifies the rigorous challenges that the Navy presents to its students and relentlessly suggests that no matter how little others believe in a person, the services could be for you.

The acting in the movie is far from abominable. Franco, who has appeared in several period pieces and played James Dean in a mini-series last year, does what he can with the role and the lacking script, identifying as much as a Southern-California born-and-bred possibly can with a blue-collar East-Coast dock boy. After his terrifyingly bad turn last month as Tristan in Kevin Reynolds' awful rendition of the famous opera Tristan and Isolde, Franco makes a comeback and proves that he is capable of taking on more serious roles. Gibson, better known as "Tyrese" to those who followed his MTV days of rap and hip-hop, presents an appropriately powerful and scary lieutenant and certainly fills out his boxing costume in an intimidating way. My personal favorite performance was by Vicellous Reon Shannon, who plays Huard's pudgy, fellow-underdog roommate, Nance. Shannon, who has made countless TV appearances but is only starting to penetrate the movie scene, plays the only truly sympathetic character in the entire movie. His portrayal of Nance is stirring and sincere, and really did move me as a viewer.

While Annapolis is sort of hokey, it is an hour-and-a-half long piece of genuine entertainment.  If viewers are able to see past the cheesy script and gratuitous plugs for the Navy, it can be viewed as a generally non-offensive, fun film. Annapolis isn't exactly Oscar material, but it's worth a viewing.

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