Unlike "Stripes" which approached things with humour, the late 1981 film "Taps" did so more seriously. The movie is about long standing military school which faces closure and that closure becomes more definite when a local boy is accidentally shot and killed in a fight between students at the school and some local townspeople. Of course, the townspeople are all a bunch of long haired drunken yobs. The students decide that they don't want to lose their beloved school so, they take up arms to defend it. Thus starts a long siege with the state police and then the national guard before it all comes to bloody end.
"Taps" deals with two main topics. From the point of view of the students, they believe in old fashioned traits like duty, honour and country. They see themselves as noble people with an honouralbe cause. However, their sense of honour is truly tested and strained throughout the film. Furthermore, they are further skewed by the view of the peace loving civilians who care little for the noble traits the students have. To them, the students are all brainwashed radical warmongers. What I did like about the film, though the point of this is not to rate it, is how the colonel of the national guard points out that the value system of the students is off base. That a true soldier wants to live and not die for their cause.
While the film comes to a bloody end, it's not full of action packed combat scenes. In fact, the film was slated by critics for having the siege drag on a bit too long. What "Taps" is trying to ram home is that American values like duty, honour, courage and loyalty to one's country aren't something that should go away. It does a good job of building sympathy towards those serving in uniform and serving isn't something bad. That was exactly what the purpose of the film was.
