MovieBuffMarine I first saw this during ABC's premiere presentation broadcast (of theatricals) on the ABC Sunday Night Movie around 1982 - 83 when I was eleven and it blew me away!Decades later, as a Marine Corps veteran when I purchased the special edition DVD, I still marveled at it and watch it every chance I get!If you are a military and science fiction fan, this is a treat. What's not to like? A modern nuclear powered aircraft carrier (with its air wing and arsenal) getting caught in an unexplained phenomenon (in effect, storm) sending it to the day before the Pearl Harbor attack made a wonderful platform. To paraphrase TV Guide's view of the movie, it was a story reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone."Kirk Douglas played a convincing Navy Captain, Matt Yelland commanding the U.S.S. Nimitz and her arsenal that was capable of wiping out the Japanese fleet. Rounding off the players are equally convincing roles by James Farentino - CDR Richard "CAG" Owens, the air wing commander; Ron O'Neal - CDR Dan Thurman, the ship's second-in-command; and Martin Sheen - Warren Lasky, a visiting civilian defense contractor. Charles Durning and Katherine Ross play 1941 characters shocked by their time travelers and ship from the future.Like most stories about time travel, the main characters have to face the main concern about altering the future as they knew it. As one of the characters retorted to another, ". . I don't have your appetite for playing God with the world!" when faced with that prospect. As 1941 friends and enemies come in contact with them, they have to make decisions on how to deal with them to avoid further conflict but at the same time possibly altering the future.The origins of the storm that sent the Nimitz back to 1941 is never explained, so it is left ambiguous. One can surmise that the Nimitz' travel back in time was a test for Captain Yelland and crew to see what they would do with the modern capabilities of the ship in regards to an historical attack they know is coming. Awesome aircraft carrier operations courtesy of the United States Navy spliced with science fiction intrigue make this an appealing tale for both military aficionados and science fiction lovers alike.

nfcg I have got to say the idea of the movie and the execution was great. I was bought in beautifully.That said, the more the movie went on the more I came toward disappointment. It's naval, I am expecting action. I can't however let my pre formed expectation lessen my critique of the film however so I am mindful of this.First though, why I am annoyed... I have been lured in by a war craft heading in to danger. Just a storm but after some time we see the high tech vs low tech battle imminent. Boom, logic kicks in and they go for the time paradox. They can't change anything or the ruin the future.Now watching a movie that can showcase all the might of the 70's navy but cannot have any kind of combat. I never believed military propaganda movies existed but this fits the bill extremely well. All us tech of the time was shown to be far superior and I for one am impressed but left thinking how much this one ship must have cost to construct and maintain with all the crew. It's a magnificent feat for the 70's! That said, without any kind of action eventuating I ended feeling I have just been to an airshow.Accurate in some ways but disappointing in the rest

thomaslabelle9 What's the point of this film? Not a bad premise but then they do NOTHING with it. They could have had some fun with it but no, they futz around in the past and then return leaving practically everything unchanged. I would have liked some action but none was delivered. Considering this is science fiction of sorts, I rate this a poor movie that wasted its decent cast with a dumb script and NO imagination. They could have at least provided some laughs bit there's none of those either. Everyone who sees this film is probably hoping that the Nimitz kicks some butts and saves Pearl Harbor. Then we could have some fun with what would happen if history was changed in that way but again ... no.

Coventry My sincerest apologies for the inevitable song lyrics in the comment's subject line, but one simply cannot resist secretly singing the cheesy rock-classic by Europe when reading the words "final" and "countdown". The film is hardly to blame for this, though, as it predates the song with at least five years. Anyways, "The Final Countdown" is a movie that I had laying around on DVD for several years already, but I always delayed my viewing due to the incredibly grotesque and implausible time-traveling plot description. I need to be in a certain light-headed and tolerant mood to watch a film about an entire aircraft carrier (we're talking about a massive warship with a full-length flight deck here) that gets sucked trough a time-warp and ends up near Pearl Harbor on the 6th of December 1941, merely hours before the Japanese surprise attack that led the United Stated into World War II. Before properly realizing – and believing – what exactly happened, Captain Yelland and his crew have to decide whether or not they will prevent the attack and thus drastically alter the course of history. Admittedly, the elaboration of this crazed concept was a lot more realistic and compelling than I expected, but it does of course remain a hypothetical Sci-Fi movie. The script obviously features paradoxes that are big enough to fit a few more aircraft carriers and the climax *** additional spoiler alert *** is a rather cowardly letdown, since director Don Taylor and the four-headed crew of authors retreated from the change-history plot possibilities. Instead of coming up with a few courageous and innovative plot twists, they apparently preferred to use "The Final Countdown" as a publicity flick to promote the Navy! There's a lot of padding footage of planes taking off, cruising through the skies and landing on the impressive USS Nimitz. Perhaps the film crew was only allowed to use the ship if they included appealing and proudly patriotic images? The acting performances are – in sheer contrast to the plot – dead serious, straight-faced and very powerful. Kirk Douglas once more represents pure testosterone, while both Martin Sheen and James Farentino give away integer performances. There are also remarkable supportive roles for Charles Durning (as an ambitious 40's senator), Katherine Ross (as his secretary) and Soon-Tek Oh (as a confused Japanese fighter pilot).