Saiyan_Prince_Vegeta I like when a movie is different. This movie is, as I don't remember other movies with a similar theme. It shows young soldiers who already understand what honor is and are ready to withstand their principles. Being a soldier is not easy, as you have to hide your emotions and stay strong no matter what. This movie does show young soldier's lives pretty good.*** Spoilers - don't read if you want to rewatch: The movie does have plotholes, or strange decisions (why they never asked for media attention or didn't ask more actively to complete their demands). Unfortunately, because of this most people outside probably thought they are just crazy terrorists, because the media didn't show their motives really and showed just one side of the story. Or for example why did the general at the beginning never said that it was the kid who took his pistol and shot?***This is basically the first Tom Cruise' movie (Endless Love had only 20 seconds of him) and I must say, I was surprised how good his acting in this movie already is. His character is different and I really liked him. Great job Tom! On overall, the movie is good and it is worth watching. Even rewatching again if you have a company.

DeuceWild_77 This film was always a personal favorite of mine growing up in the 80's and still is now that i'm in my 40's. Saying that, "Taps" is an accomplished and fascinating military school drama, featuring a great cast of future stars, splendidly directed with style & class by Harold Becker and based on the 1979 novel "Father Sky" by Devery Freeman. It was Timothy Hutton's first leading role after he won the Academy Award for his breakthrough performance in Robert Redford's "Ordinary People" and his authoritative performance here as Cadet Major Brian Moreland, full of inner strength and dignity, is only overshadowed by the brilliant turns of the veteran George C. Scott, which never disappoints, playing an old school General Harlan Bache who rules the Military School with a code of honour and a sense of moral & values that seems out of place in the modern Era and Tom Cruise, in his first prominent part, as the reckless Cadet Captain David Shawn, well aware & committed on his performance, stealing every scene he's in. Scott's role may be too small, but his spiritual presence is felt everywhere in the movie by the other characters' actions & decisions and he's the main focus of the plot hence his deserved top billing despite less than 15 minutes on-screen. "Taps" also features Sean Penn, in his debut role, playing the prudent, but loyal Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer; Giancarlo Esposito & Evan Handler, also in their first appearances on-screen and a solid performance by character actor Ronny Cox as Colonel Kerby, the head of the National Guard. Besides those mentioned and with the exception of Brendan Ward, playing the ill-fated child cadet Charlie Auden, the other characters are underdeveloped, appearing more like extras which wasn't a good decision, giving more speaking parts and relevance to the story could had enriched the whole. Reviewed today, the plot of "Taps" may be considered dated for the actual state of the world, the millennials took over and code of honour / military life became somewhat of an "out of fashion" motto / way of life, but this captivating film, a tale of misdirected honour and courage among the youth, deserves to be rediscovered as a great piece of filmmaking which also scores high in the entertainment level.

robert-temple-1 This was Sean Penn's first feature film and Tom Cruise's second feature film, so it is memorable for introducing such well known stars to the screen when they were young men. But the film is totally dominated by a magnificent bravura performance by Timothy Hutton, of astonishing power and conviction. The film is set in a boys' military academy called Bunker Hill Academy, in America. For people not familiar with such institutions, or indeed for all people unfamiliar with America, it is common for boys' boarding schools to be 'military academies', the very idea of such a thing being of course unknown in Britain. And by military they mean military, that is, the boys really wear uniforms all the time, drill like soldiers, and are subjected to military discipline. Many fathers think this 'makes a man of' their sons. What it can do, however, is scar them for life. (This happened in the late 19th century in Bohemia to the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, for instance.) Some boys thrive on this kind of thing, go into the Army eventually as a career, and are happy as clams. To each his own! Here we see a military academy to beat all military academies, one which is so military it surpasses the real Army itself. At the beginning of the film it is run by a headmaster who is a spell-binding patriarch who dazzles the cadets with his oratory, a retired general played by George C. Scott. Hutton plays a cadet who hero-worships him. It is the end of the school year, and Hutton has just been appointed Cadet Major (equivalent to Head Prefect) for the following year. That means he will be the commanding officer of the students, answerable only to the General. He has been told so often about the importance of loyalty and honour that when an unexpected event occurs, he duly does what he has been trained to do, he … well, that's just the problem … At Commencement Day, in the presence of all the parents, following the parade and file-past with elaborate salutes to the General (the boy officers even hold swords to their noses as they do 'eyes right', it is all far more elaborate than any drill I ever did, and I was a cadet officer in a non-military school when young and did that kind of thing, but not with real rifles and a sword up my nostrils like we see here), the General announces that the trustees of the Academy have decided to close the school and sell off the land to commercial developers. This shocks all the boys, who begin to think they should defend their 'country', i.e. their academy, like real soldiers. There is a conflict between 'town and gown' and the townies attack some of the cadets (although the word is not used in this film, such cadets are commonly known as 'bellhops' by boys in non-military boarding schools). In the melée, the General's pistol goes off accidentally and kills a boy from the town. He is then taken away by the police, leaving the closing school rudderless, as many of the teachers and more than half of the students leave for the summer. Some, however stay for 'the summer session', among them being Timothy Hutton who is now de facto in charge of the Academy, and Sean Penn and Tom Cruise leading figures amongst the other cadets. Some of the boys are only 11 or 12 years old, but most are between 16 and 18. They decide they are not going to let the developers get away with it, and so they follow all their military training and set up a defence of the school. Because the General had been more than a little gun-happy, he had stocked the school with huge quantities of guns and real ammunition. These are duly distributed amongst the cadets and they set up defensive positions, sandbags, barriers, and sentries patrolling the walls which surround the school. This erupts into violence and gunfire and becomes 'the real thing'. The cadets keep saying that honour dictates that they must defend their principles. They do a raid on the town in a truck which they stock with food, and they hunker down to await the life and death shootout. They are all prepared to die for their school. Of course, one can sympathise with their hatred of the commercial developers who want to destroy their school and all that they believe in just for the sake of money. Hating them is one thing, but shooting them is another. With no one in charge but the idealistic Hutton, the borderline between fantasy and reality collapses. The real Army comes and lays siege to the school, bringing in tanks. When a 12 year-old cadet is shot and killed by one of the real soldiers, half the cadets desert because they are terrified, but the rest remain, prepared to die for their beliefs. This film is a study of honour, but it shows that even honour, when carried to extremes which have lost touch with reality, can become dishonour without the people who believe in it even realizing it. The film is thus an extraordinarily thoughtful study of a noble principle carried to such extremes that young kids end up dying for their beliefs, because the grown-ups will not listen to them. The ending cannot be revealed, but to say that things become hyper-tense is an understatement. This is a knockout of a film, and it would make anyone, even the dullest person, think. And as we all know, thinking is the thing that most people try to avoid doing if at all possible. So if a film can make people think, then it does deserve all the support and admiration we can give it. This film is a masterpiece of serious examination of matters of conscience, and is extremely exciting and well made.

fortethewriter A story often overlooked for less-than-stellar acting and direction, Taps brings into question if classical military leadership and the traditional honor of fighting men has a place in the modern age.Providing a springboard for young actors into future careers, the film showcases a number of actors ranging in ages from pre-teen to late teens with varying results. Some perform predictably while others really shine (particularly Brendan Ward as Charlie Auden).The film holds up well after 30 years, feeling more like a story SET in the early 80's rather than being burdened by its age. Cinematography is dramatic, though not always dynamic, and makes GREAT use of the borrowed setting of actual Valley Forge academy.The story is paced well, though some may feel it to be kind of slow. This is NOT an action movie, and is far from a traditional military movie either. Those who are looking for something along the lines of We Were Soldiers or even the first half of Full Metal Jacket will be very disappointed. Those with a more open mind for classical story-telling will find a surprisingly detailed portrayal of life in a military academy and a deeper story than may be seen on the surface.Atypical for the theme and maybe not for everyone, but definitely worth a shot.