Taps - 4 stars out of 5 stars

A gem from 1981 running 126 minutes,this film is a showcase of young future stars let by a fading George C Scott as General Harlan Bache,superintendent of a young mens military academy.But its not his film and his character  dies of a heart attack not far into the film.No this film belongs to the cadets and their dedication to the academy that turns horribly and tragically wrong.Led by Timothy Hutton  as Cadet Major Brian Moreland,they try to keep the school open when the trustees want to close it for economic reasons.They can make more money off the real-estate than the tuition. Together with Sean Penn as Cadet Captain Alex Dwyer,and Tom Cruise as Cadet Captain David Shawn,Moreland decides to take over the academy and hold it till the trustees can be convinced otherwise.Unfortunatly along the waybthey clash with the locals and the General dies while a national guard unit under the command of Ronny Cox as Colonel Kerby,surround the academy and await as tensions rise.Many fine supporting roles are well acted as we await the inevitable.When children and weekend warriors have guns,no matter the values they claim to uphold,it WILL go violently bad.Tom Cruise is the lesser role of the three but you can just feel his presence in each scene and even though Hutton and Penn have great movies to come,you know Cruise is the man.I took 1 star off because this could never happen but gave it four because its so well done you actually believe it just might.Trailer URL below the pix

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2676818201/