Taps

Directed by Harold Becker, Taps follows several military cadets, including Timothy Hutton’s Brian, Sean Penn’s Alex, and Tom Cruise’s David, as they stage a takeover of their academy to prevent it from closing. It’s compelling subject matter that’s employed to decent (if somewhat disappointing) effect by Becker, as the filmmaker, armed with a script by Darryl Ponicsan and Robert Mark Kamen, delivers a slow-moving and curiously sluggish endeavor that gets off to an especially underwhelming start – as the picture opens with a deliberately-paced first act that contains little in the way of ingratiating, engrossing attributes. (There’s little doubt, at least, that Becker does a solid job of establishing the picture’s cloistered environs and various characters.) Taps’ less-than-enthralling vibe, which is generally allayed by the top-notch performances, persists right up until the aforementioned takeover occurs, as Becker has suffused this portion of the proceedings with a handful of tense, compelling sequences and set-pieces – which proves effective at compensating for the lulls that unfortunately pop up within the movie’s second half. The end result is a watchable endeavor that’s rarely as taut as one might’ve anticipated based on its premise, and yet the irresistible scenario and raft of above-average performances (Cruise’s turn as a volatile hothead is especially engaging) carry the picture through to its downbeat finale.

**1/2 out of ****