Lorenzo D. What a very powerful scene at the end of Taps when Tom Cruise shouted these words to Timothy Hutton! Of course he had no idea at that moment that his would be the last words spoken as the squad leader of his rifle company!!
My family and I are watching it right now on FMC, and Tom Cruise's voice, it's so odd hearing him sound like a teenager. I remember watching this as a kid myself, and now I'm watching it with my 8 year old. And wow, how young they all were!
Funny thing... I watched Valkyrie with Cruise and a short while before I watched Yes Man with Jim Carrey and there's a point where Carrey says the line "It's Beautiful!!" when he's jumping on the bed. Reminded me of the scene in Taps.
"It is not enough to like a film. You must like it for the right reasons." - Pierre Rissient
I never did like the character of David Shawn, let alone Tom Cruise. Tom may be from my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, but that doesn't mean that I have to like the SOB. And believe me, I don't!
As I stated in my previous post, I thought David Shawn got what he deserved in the end. The only thing that I wish that could have happened differently would have been "SPOILER ALERT!" Alex Dwyer(Sean Penn)getting killed along with him instead of Brian Moreland(Timothy Hutton).
I think that, if Moreland had survived, it would have given the film more dimension. If Dwyer had been killed along with Shawn, it would have made Moreland realize how wrong he had handled the situation, and that the situation had gotten way out of control(i.e. the wrong execution of the right idea). The death of his two friends would have been a horrifying experience that Moreland would have had to live with, had he survived in the end.
And yes, I don't like Sean Penn, either. He, too, is an SOB as far as I am concerned.
I don't think it was necessary to kill Dwyer. I think Moreland (Hutton) realized it was out of control and had remorse when Charlie was shot and killed.
It's all true!!! Sean Penn should have been the one shot dead with Cruise, and Hutton would have given up the fight upon learning of this. Can't believe that, It's my best favorite scene of Taps 30 years on! I like CDT CPT David Shawn so much this scene makes me think that I'm gonna face the same destiny that he faced in the film if that happens.
I don’t think Sean Penn would’ve tried to save Cruise because he knew it’d be too much of a risk. It’s more tragic that Timothy Hutton died doing what he was passionate about, which was death before dishonor.