ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

SnoopyStyle Retired Brigadier General Harlan Bache (George C. Scott) runs the Bunker Hill Military Academy for boys. He appoints Cadet Brian Moreland (Timothy Hutton) as the leader Cadet Major. Alex Dwyer (Sean Penn) is a zen Cadet Captain. David Shawn (Tom Cruise) is the most militaristic Cadet Captain. During commencement, Bache shocks everyone with news that the board of trustees are tearing down the academy and selling off the land in a year's time. During a dance, local teens confront the cadets and Bache's pistol accidentally discharge killing one of the locals. Bache is arrested and has a heart attack. The cadets take over the campus The standoff escalates when the National Guard arrive led by Colonel Kerby (Ronny Cox).The setup is very clunky and slow. The local kids are cartoon characters. The locals are simple plot devices. The parents are given short-shrift. There is basically no adult supervision in the Academy. The whole thing is straining to establish a Lord of the Flies situation. There are some terrific young future stars at work. Tom Cruise does a very interesting intense character. After a fairly slow opening, the movie gets slightly better but it's hard to get on side with the cadets. The kid who runs out first is probably the bravest of anybody in the movie.

Clayreodactyl I spent many years trying to get a copy of this film and finally it appears on my Netflix account a few weeks ago to my utter joy! I was only two when this film came out but it's long sat on my list of must-see movies, and finally at 34yrs old I have watched it and was very glad to say the wait was worthwhile.The film tells us how the changing times are going to take away this military school, an institution loved by those who attend and run it, in it's place condominiums. As usual capitalism is the underlying theme driving the change. These military boys want to take a stand and with these things the situation get wildly out of hand, not helped by the adults who won't sit down and talk which ultimately is all they have been asked for from the get-go.What struck me from the beginning is how the people acting most like adults through the whole situation were the children, the adults who could very easily taken control of the situation, by giving credit where credit was due and showing some respect to the boys, instead opted for throwing their weight around and yes, in the end they won, but was the cost too high?This film teaches a great lesson in how we tackle potentially volatile situations in life. Sometimes with a bit of thought and consideration an alternative route may be more or just as successful with less destruction and force.I will be recommending this film to others.

Dan Guercio Taps is one of my favorite movies and it is without a doubt one of Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn's best performances. The entire premise of the movie is entertaining, heartfelt, and thought provoking all at the same time. The message of the film, which is while there is honor and valor in war there is also young and meaningless death, is one of the best messages a movie can convey and is also conveyed so perfectly that it is easily noticeable and understandable. Taps is an eye opener that expresses how war can be misconstrued as a playground for heroes and not an unnecessary loss of life. Overall, Taps is a great movie that deserves much better than it received.

happipuppi13 I saw dumb movies when I was young but every now & thenI'd actually find something that was worth the money I spent.Taps was the first film I saw in Jan. of 1982,weeks after it's release and at that time was without a doubt,at age 13 & 1/2 the most grown-up movie I had ever seen. I'm sure in the TV advertisements the appeal was obvious. Actors near my age and my older brothers' ages,the (then) cool look of their uniforms and without a doubt,that scene in the the ad where the students are overhead with their guns pointed at the adults,I.E. :rebellion. Hard to find a pre-teen or teen-age boy who wouldn't find this kind of thing appealing. In the new Reagan,conservative '80s era it was fitting. One's point of view can only describe to that person what this film is all about. Some have felt this film is pro-war,while others (like me) feel it's th opposite. I find it to be even more than that though. It seemed to me that it's just as I stated above. The naive' appeal of war and weapons to young minds,as well as the parents who send their kids to these kinds of places to shape them up. No offense to those who did attend an academy,there are those who actually do get something out of it,but for my own life experience and views,I'll more than likely never understand what that would be. Self discipline can be taught to one's self just as easily.Anyhow,getting back to the film. As a movie it was quite the intense experience. George C. Scott was great in it but I really wish his character had not been removed from the story. I felt he brought these kids a level measure of control and a wiser voice of reason. Timothy Hutton,Sean Penn and (aside from the younger kids)the 17/18 year old Tom Cruise are all fantastic in their roles. In the case of Penn & Cruise a pre-view of good things to come for them as actors.Penn is a great friend to Hutton's character and this may seem like a simple role at first but as the story goes on his performance builds on itself with his still very fresh abilities as an actor.Cruise is unsettling but electric as the cadet who likes the power & control he's been trained with just a little too much. Resulting in the climactic scene where he goes "trigger-happy" with a machine gun near the end of the film. "It's beautiful man!" is the most remembered line from the whole film.Hutton,the veteran actor of the 3,plays a young man who has a more idealistic view of his education at the academy and of the overall meaning. It's more like an elegant party for him and his hanging out with "old soldiers". The taking of the academy by the students was handled convincingly enough but the idea that they'd bring in tanks and the "real army" seemed a bit much. The pressure of that later resulting in a bit of a dissension between Penn & Hutton.The thing that has not set to well with those that have seen this movie is the senseless killing of a boy who's only about 10 or 11 by the military. Even over 27 years later,it still feels like it was not a necessary thing to put in this movie to make the point of what happens to these boys when they end up in "a real war". The point was made long before that. It was equally unnerving for me to realize that even kids that age can "stop living'.That nearly fatal story choice aside,the film really is great. The best thing one can do before watching is just put aside your left or right views and just watch it as you would any other movie. What I learned years later is not to let myself get so deep into the politics and just keep in mind,that's Hollywood and the film-makers ideas and/or ideals. (END)