Taps

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Horror fan 4 What a great movie. Lead by a great cast this was very entertaining and had great memories for me. Tim Treakle Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/11/24 Full Review Aidan B This is a really solid drama that's carried by some fantastic performances. Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn lead the cast and give excellent performances. The immensely talented George C. Scott also does a very good job. There's also a surprise performance from a very young Giancarlo Esposito. The direction is really tight and the script is fantastic. It doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel but the characters all feel so genuinely human. There's no clear hero or villain because every character is so morally grey and you can see what their intentions are and it's up to the audience to decide who's right or wrong. A really enjoyable drama with some great performances. I'd recommend it to anyone. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/24 Full Review Mike P Interesting variation on Lord of the Flies; and other troubled youth/ or youth-in-revolt movies; like Kids, Rivers Edge, Over the Edge; If; Children of the Corn, etc. This time the proceedings are set at a military school, Bunker Hill Academy, (aptly named!) Cadets Sean Penn, Tom Cruise and Timothy Hutton are trying to stop their beloved Bunker Hill Academy from being taken over by local authorities and shut down. This is after their General (George C Scott) is detained in the investigation of the shooting of a local boy protesting the school. When the local authorities move in to take over the school; the kids all grab machine guns and other artillery and refuse their entry; going into a standoff with local police and government swat teams. Really this is about extreme, radical, right wing military types refusing to bow to mainstream norms and regulations; escalating to Tom Cruise's psychotic break at the ending. His David Shaun starts shooting randomly and indiscriminately into the crowds all around the school; shouting "It's beautiful! it's beautiful"! And the movie was released in tandem with Reagan's wave of Born in the USA arch conservativism that swept the nation in the early 80s. Witness the fetishized military uniforms and weapons on our young heroes on all the movie's posters; this kind of thing would reach a fervor just two years later with Rambo: First Blood Part 2 in 85. Shaun is psychotic. And while the movie clearly disapproves of him; he's only arguably slightly more unhinged than the other boys in the movie. Regardless of the movie's politics; it is well-acted, (you can't do much better than Tom Cruise, Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton and George C Scott in a movie like this!) And it's also gripping, if also a little melodramatic and manipulative at times. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/08/22 Full Review Audience Member A film from childhood. A group of Military Academy youth create more drama when their school is sold & their General falls victim to the society outside the walls. The pace eventually starts picking up, ultimately in a pretty devastating climax that is all too relevant by todays standards. The majority of this cast went on to have really stellar careers. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/11/22 Full Review joel h At first, I thought Taps was going to be a dramatic version of Animal House, where the cadets would try to save their school with honor and valor. However, I soon realized that this movie was more like Lord of the Flies, and that interested me. It's a slow-moving, soft-talking film, but there are genuine moments of tension along with some good performances from such a young cast, including some very familiar faces. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member I had seen this when it first came out back all those many, many moons ago. It was a very taut and well developed production. From the very beginning when George C. Scott's General Harlan Bache reads from "The Book of Remembrance" the movie is rife with a palatable tension. Jaffe directs everyone here with aplomb and gets the most out of the young actors, particularly the trio that is Tom Cruise, Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn. There are a couple of others who play Plebes in the roles of Bug and Charlie that stand out and the always reliable Ronny Cox deliver solid performances. A young Giancarlo Esposito plays J.C. Pierce and delivers a solid performance as well. There are some stereotypical roles in here too, but they seem to be there more for a slight comedic relief however slight the humour could be in such a heavy movie. There are some tropes that have used before obviously, but they don't detract from the overarching premise of the film. The original source material, 'Father Sky', is adapted into a screenplay that strays from the original story here and there, but overall 'Taps' is done in such a competent manner as to make it one of those movies from the early '80s that actually could be considered a classic from that era. I liked the overall story and I thought it was very well done. I watched it this evening and it holds up pretty well. There are central themes that are fleshed out and the acting from most everyone. I do recommend it. Highly. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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