The Final Countdown (1980)

August 3, 2023 12:14 PM

[TRAILER] A time warp takes the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its captain (Kirk Douglas) back to Pearl Harbor, Dec. 6, 1941.

Also starring Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino, Ron O'Neal, Charles Durning,

Directed by Don Taylor (Stalag 17). Written by David Ambrose, Gerry Davis, Thomas Hunter, Peter Powell.

52% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on Amazon Prime, Peacock, The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Plex... JustWatch.

hanov3r was kind enough to support MeFi with a donation. Their request was for six films about time travel. bent back tulips also donated to MeFi and is interested in sci-fi thrillers, so I'm doubling down on this one, which is helpful since there are a lot of good films available. I'll be using the tag #timetravellin

Donate $25 or more to MeFi and you can MeMail me a request for a themed day of your own. I'll fill up the sidebar on FF with six movies that fit your theme.

posted by DirtyOldTown (9 comments total)

The level of verisimilitude for the military stuff (they had Navy cooperation) is impressive, but the plot doesn't really make sense.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:05 PM on August 3, 2023

Oh! I watched this!

I can’t add much, however. It’s pretty stilted.
posted by sixswitch at 1:18 PM on August 3, 2023

This was a favourite of mine when I was a young teenager - I should give it a re-watch.
posted by rozcakj at 2:13 PM on August 3, 2023

I am fairly sure that I saw this when it first came out, but I remember nothing about it.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:45 PM on August 3, 2023

I remember seeing this on what may have been the first VHS tape our family ever rented.

I also remember thinking it was not very good. That feeling seems to have pretty much erased almost all of the specifics of the movie from my memory. I'm a little curious to rewatch. Not that I think it'll fare any better than when I was 13. But I'm genuinely curious about all the stuff I don't recall.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:51 PM on August 3, 2023

I remember young me being very excited about this and when it eventually turned up on TV being super disappointed by the plot, basically they go back in time, they talk q lot about engaging the Japanese fleet, decide to do so, then go back to their own time through no action of their own. Bit crap basically.
posted by biffa at 1:33 AM on August 4, 2023

The Final Countdown (1986)
posted by kirkaracha at 1:56 PM on August 4, 2023

The plane porn is good. Not many chances to see a high performance jet actually maneuvering with old warbirds (I assume modified T-6's). Yeah if you're at an airshow with a "heritage flight" you can see a modern plane flying smoothly in formation with an old warbird but not moving around each other* like that.

*Or at least appearing to; I'm sure a lot of what we see is perspective/zoom tricks.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 2:35 PM on August 4, 2023

Oh hey, I haven’t watched this in years but that classic wooden yacht, the Vida Mia, is still around and available for charter in Waikiki.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:47 PM on August 4, 2023