| Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: December 25, 1981 |
Starring:
George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton
Summary:
Military cadets take extreme measures to insure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local commercial development.
Watch Now
| Buy on |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
Considering the dreary circumstances, the performances are quite good, especially those of Mr. Scott, who can do this sort of thing before breakfast; Timothy Hutton, an Oscar winner for Ordinary People; Sean Penn, as the one cadet at Bunker Hill with a grain of sense; Tom Cruise, as a murderously gung-ho cadet, and Evan Handler, as a cadet who remains a humane civilian at heart.
Read full review
Taps aspires to be both a movie for the conservative '80s and a youth-in-revolt, anti-military movie of the '60s. The contradictions break the dramatic spine of director Harold Becker's film, which grinds to a predictably violent climax without ever having made its basic premise believable. How many teen-agers do you know who would sacrifice their lives for a military school? [28 Dec 1981, p.65]
An opportunity for an unusual film about teen-agers was thrown away, in Taps, in favor of what its own screenplay characterizes as a cinematic stereotype. [18 Dec 1981, p.21]
Taps labors at an unbearably slow pace to an inevitable, depressing conclusion.
Jul 25, 2017
I can't believe that the critics didn't LOVE this movie. Tim Hutton was fantastic, and Tom Cruise? He was at his maniacal best in this. Felt so bad for Commander Bache.
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
More From Metacritic
Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
More From Taps