Director: Harold Becker
Writer: Darryl Ponicsan, Robert Mark Kamen (Screenplay) Devery Freeman (Novel)
Starring: George C Scott, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Cox, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise
Plot: Military cadets take extreme measures to insure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Good Little 80’s Movie
Story: Taps starts as we meet our Military Cadets with Cadet Major Brian Moreland (Hutton) getting the promotion to this rank for his final year at the academy from General Harlan Bache (Scott). Bache informs the students this will be their final year before the academy is going to be knocked down for development.
When there is an altercation outside the grounds Bache accidently kills a young civilian. The consequences of this are that the base is going to close early but Moreland brings together the cadets with his Captains Alex Dwyer (Penn) and David Shawn (Cruise) to hold the base so they can have their final year and prove the academy is important for the community.
Thoughts on Taps
Characters – General Harlan Bache runs the military academy, he has done for years and enjoys developing the next generation of soldiers, when he is accidently involved in a shooting of a civilian he is removed from the base ending up in hospital. Cadet Major Brian Moreland leads the cadets, he was handpicked by the General and once the General is off the base, he leads the defence of the base from the incoming developers. Cadet Captain Dwyer is the closest friend Moreland has on the base and does clash with Shawn at time over clash of styles. Cadet Captain David Shawn is the fellow captain that is determined to prove the cadets can handle themselves, he acts quicker than Dwyer which leads to their tension at times.
Performance – The performances are great throughout, George Scott is your big name draw for the time and is good in his role, with Timothy Hutton here right after his Oscar win that is great throughout. Tom Cruise and Sean Penn both show their skills in the supporting role where they easily becoming big stars.
Story – The story does follow the cadets who look to defend their school after an accident that is about to be getting closed. It shows how they were trained to handle themselves and stand up for what they believe in a bigger cause than themselves. It does have moments where you think it is a kids movie but the reality war is never just this tone and you also couldn’t see both sides fighting for what is mostly property.
Settings – Most of the film is set at the academy which shows how the young men worked together to stand up for what could build on a generation of future soldiers.
Scene of the Movie – Escape the locals.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – This does seem like fighting for almost nothing, even if it is mostly tactical building up to a potential battle.
Final Thoughts – This film shows us three young talented actors who all went onto bigger project in a film which shows the meaning behind being a solider from a young age, working together and understanding when to stand up for something you believe in.
Overall: Good drama showing us plenty of military tactics.
Rating
