This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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.

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.

Continuing my plan to watch every Tom Cruise movie in order, I come to his second movie, Taps (1981)Plot In A Paragraph: Military cadets take extreme measures to insure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.I really enjoyed this movie. It's one I had to buy for this marathon, and despite the cast, (Cruise, George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn and Ronny Cox) I'm surprised I'd never heard of it before, and nobody I have spoke to remembers it. Cruise has a fairly substantial role as a hot headed cadet.It's a really tense, engrossing, well acted and well directed movie that deserves to be seen. Taps grossed $35 million at the domestic box office, to end the year the 16th highest grossing movie of 1981.

I just finished watching T*A*P*S for the first time in many years. It was, and still is, a powerful movie. The different characters were wonderfully written and played very well by the different actors.If you have never seen this movie I suggest doing so.I liked the whole movie. The story line was phenomenal. It's about a military school called Bunker Hill Military Academy and it's students. At the beginning of the movie it is the end of the school term and the start of summer vacation. Some of the students are staying for the summer, including Cadet Major Brian Moreland (Timothy Hutton), Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer (Sean Penn), and Cadet Captain David Shawn (Tom Cruise). The school's superintendent is General Harlan Bache (George C. Scott).Moreland is newly promoted to Cadet Major at the beginning of the movie. He is friends with Dwyer and Shawn, and he tries to emulate General Bache. At the commencement ceremony for the out going senior class General Bache reveals that the board of trustees have decided to close the school at the end of the next school year. They want to make way for a condominium complex.One very powerful scene is when the remaining cadets are having a dance. Some local teens are harassing arriving guests and the cadets. Moreland politely asked the teens to move along. One of the teens walked up to Moreland and threw a punch. As Moreland and the other cadets are defending themselves one cadet runs and gets General Bache. As soon as Bache attempts to stop the melee one of the teens jumps on his back and grabs for his sidearm. The teen gets the handgun loose from the holster and pulls the trigger. Bache didn't know that there was a live round in the chamber. The teen who first attacked Moreland was shot in the chest and died instantly. The police are called and Bache is taken into custody.The following day the board members come to the academy to do inventory of the weapons located there. Moreland realizes what is going on and before the sheriff comes to confiscate the arsenal, Moreland takes them. Moreland wants the academy to stay open. He and the remaining student body take control of the academy and refuse to surrender. At one point, Moreland's father comes to negotiate the surrender, it does not go well.Even though Moreland is friends with both Dwyer and Shawn, the animosity between Dwyer and Shawn is very evident. In one scene it is revealed to Moreland that Shawn has given orders to shoot anyone coming over, around or under the walls by the sentries. Moreland barely blinks, saying that those were the proper orders to give. The tension on Moreland gets to be too much when twice several students leave, when asked, rather than stay to defend their school. As time goes on, one student is burned in an accident after the power was turned off and another student was shot because the National Guard unit that arrived thought he was firing at them (he wasn't).After Moreland finds out that Bache passed away from a heart attack Moreland begins to question whether he and the other cadets are doing the right thing. Dwyer attempts and succeeds in talking Moreland into surrendering. Shawn has other plans. The power really goes to his head and he starts firing on the National Guard. The National Guard returns fire and eventually kills Shawn. Moreland attempts to save Shawn but is killed also. Dwyer carries his friends body from the barracks followed by Colonel Kerby (Ronnie Cox).This is a adrenaline filled movie that ends very tragically. It's about teenagers, who are sent to a military school for one reason or another, taught to be soldiers and defend their rights. But they misread what they are taught, and end up in a world of hurt. The movie ends with the cadets surrendering and Dwyer carrying Moreland out the front gate.I like movies like these. I like how it actually has a plot that goes from A to Z. The acting in this movie is pretty good. I give this 10 stars out of 10. Even though it is a dated movie, and some of the sentimentality is different between the time it was made and today, it's still pretty good.