I found this movie strange and interesting in the blatant way it promotes the army to children. In the army children will get friends, learn team-work, structure and discipline. As well as learn healthy competition and screaming at each other while juggling a rifle. What kid would not want that? To be a conformist cog in a well-oiled killing machine is fun! I cant help but think its like a Hollywood-Disneyfied version of the Third Reich propaganda films for the Hitler Jugend. Sick but cute. It is very interesting that a film like this can be made and put out into the mainstream culture, being treated like an ordinary family movie. I did not find it particularly wholesome.

I'm not going to lie: when I heard that the family channel was making an original movie with Hilary Duff, and that it was not based on the fantastic Lizzie Maguire show, I was obviously distraught. But when I learned the ridiculously original plot, and the fact that the film starred I can only imagine future Oscar winner Shawn Ashmore, I became extremely excited. And not only was this as good as I imagined, it was better! I've seen a lot of great movies in my day, The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Fellini's 8½, but none of them reached the cinematic levels that Cadet Kelly achieved. Hilary Duff pulls off a superlative performance, rarely seen since the likes of early Marlon Brando, or Orson Welles.This movie is the most accurate movie surrounding military school I have ever seen, but it also has a tender side. I found myself crying on no less than 14 occasions, which is rare because I never cry during movies. It is touching without being melodramatic, and exciting and tense, without ever being cheesy. This is the only movie I have ever given the 10 out of 10 for, but I believe it is well earned.Of course, the Oscars will not nominate it, as they always overlook the best movies, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Fight Club, but this movie transcends awards. I believe that Hilary Duff will go on to be one of the greats, and this movie will sit proudly in my DVD collection, until I keel over and die.

As a former member of a drill team in a JROTC program, this movie was disgraceful.My drill team would never have pulled some of the moves they did in the movie. Unarmed fancy teams are not step teams!!! They do not preform routines like that and win where I come from. Military bearing is the most important thing when it comes to drill.Also, the weapons they use on the movie sound like colorguard weapons for a marching band. Those weapons sound like they weight about 1 - 2 pounds. The weapons a real drill team uses should be at least 8 - 12 pounds. Award winning drill teams that I have seen preform harder routines than that.Disney needs to research military schools and JROTC programs before they make a movie involving them. Overall this movie made me want to throw something at the TV.

Although not really an unspeakably terrible movie, Cadet Kelly is hardly worth watching. Hilary Duff does a good job as Kelly Collins, and so does Gary Cole as General Joe Maxwell. Shawn Ashmore isn't bad as Cadet Major Brad Rigby, but Christy Carlson Romano is just plain annoying (as opposed to impressive) as Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone.Now don't get me wrong. I really like Christy Carlson Romano. She's a beautiful and talented actress, and also one of my favorites. But there are certain types of characters I don't like to see her portrayed as (I also believe these parts to be where Christy's talent fails her). That includes constant wet blankets, characters who don't accept people's differences, really mean characters, and especially villains. Captain Stone seems to fall under all four of those categories.Then again, the part wasn't entirely fun for Christy. She didn't like being mean to Hilary, and I don't blame her (Christy, that is). In fact, when it comes to that particular part of Christy's role, I can't help but be sympathetic, in two senses of the word.1) I share her feelings.2) I feel sorry for her.When it comes to bad attitude in Christy's characters, low-level is fine with me, and medium-level is acceptable, but high-level isn't.Not only does Christy make a lousy villain, the conflict is also pretty bad. I mean, it's a new cadet's life being made miserable (deliberately, I might add) by her own instructor. That kind of conflict, from my point of view, should never be used.Also, I don't like the movie's plot.I understand that Kelly and Jennifer become very good friends by the end of the movie, but for me that's not quite good enough. Hilary and Christy, from my point of view, are better off playing characters who are very good friends to start with and remain as such throughout the movie.