Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Annie is a young, happy foster kid who's also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they'd be back for her someday, it's been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan. But everything's about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks—advised by his brilliant VP and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor—makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he's her guardian angel, but Annie's self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it's the other way around.
The 2014 Annie update modernizes the classic musical by transplanting it to contemporary New York with a diverse cast, but the execution is largely middling across the board. The plot follows the familiar beats of the original faithfully but without much spark or depth — the tycoon-as-guardian-angel campaign angle feels contrived rather than fresh. The acting is competent but uneven; Quvenzhané Wallis brings energy but Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz struggle with their roles, with Diaz's Miss Hannigan widely considered a weak point. Cinematography is functional but unremarkable, lacking the visual ambition a musical of this scale might warrant. As a modern reimagining of a well-known property, novelty is limited — it updates superficial details (smartphones, streaming) but doesn't reinvent the story in any meaningful way. The ending resolves predictably and without earned emotional weight. Overall a passable but forgettable family entertainment.