Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

A Masterpiece!

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

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.

Nice opening to this modern-day science fiction adventure -- scenic views of Hawaii and Key West, impressive shots of the monstrous aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, a Tomcat slamming onto the carrier's flight deck. Air/Sea Rescue supported by triumphant music. The helo crew save two survivors of a strafed yacht. They save Katherine Ross's dog too. Well-done aerial shots, illustrating refueling procedures. And a glance or two at the bridge of the Nimitz.Frankly, I was astonished. It's all buttons. If the skipper, Kirk Douglas of the cleft chin, sings out, "Give me twenty-five knots headwind across the flight deck," the quartermaster (if that is in fact what he is) simply punches a course into some kind of electronic junk the shape of a reclining refrigerator. There is nobody at the helm because there is no helm for anybody to be at. Nothing even remotely resembles the equipment of the destroyer-sized Coast Guard cutter I served eight unforgettable months on. I don't think it would be much fun to work on the Nimitz. No sense of the sea, more a feeling of living in a huge, congested, immaculate iron city, cluttered with industrial yellow heavy movers and fire trucks. It might as well be a construction site.Martin Sheen is a civilian systems analyst (read "efficiency expert") assigned to the Nimitz. Sheen is welcomed aboard by Douglas but has a contretemps with one of the pilots, James Farentino. Shortly after Sheen's arrival, the Nimitz runs into an extremely odd electrical storm that produces generous lightning and a horrible screeching sound. Everyone is knocked about for a few minutes and when they recover, still dazed, everything seems normal again. Douglas sounds general quarters, launching a period of organized chaos. The fulsome score borrows from "Patton" and from "633 Squadron". It begins to look like a long and lavishly budgeted episode of the original "Twilight Zone" -- and it stays that way. It's December 6th, 1941, and the Japanese fleet is on its way to attack Pearl Harbor. Douglas and his men figure this out shortly, when they pick up the Japanese fleet on radar.Cut to an old-fashioned wooden yacht, shellacked and painted, with Charles Durning and Katherine Ross, after whom Senator Durning lusts. They're listening to a speech being broadcast by President Roosevelt warning the nation of the danger by foreign aggressors. (Kids, that's President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served out almost four terms between 1933 and 1945. The "foreign aggressors" he's talking about must be Nazi Germany and Japan. President Roosevelt had had polio and was unable to walk, but the press never showed pictures of him in his wheelchair. That's what journalism was like in 1941.) Two lone Japanese zeroes sink the yacht but are in turn shot down by two modern Navy fighters. One Japanese pilot is rescued.It would have made a fascinating episode of "The Twilight Zone" but the movie goes awry before too long. Katherine Ross and Charles Durning are the survivors of the strafed yacht. They're brought up by winch into the helo compartment. "I'm sure glad you were out here," remarks Durning. At the time there were virtually no helicopters, just a few private toys held together with spars. And Durning is sitting in the spacious compartment of this big helicopter, being cared for by men in modern Navy uniforms, evidently oblivious to his surroundings. It's not until he's taken aboard the carrier that he activates what Ivan Pavlov called the orientation reflex. That is, he takes notice of what's around him.So does the resolute Japanese prisoner, who grabs a gun and some hostages and demands access to a radio. Clearly he wants to warn his fleet of the presence of the Nimitz. There is considerable concern over this by Douglas and the rest. Should they allow him to warn the Japanese attack force? Well -- if they gave it any thought, they probably would. What would be the consequence? The attack force of six aircraft carriers might try to bomb and torpedo the Nimitz but given the difference in technology they probably wouldn't do much damage, if any. OR, having been warned, Nagumo might realize that he now lacked surprise and might have turned the fleet around -- thus averting, for a while, America's entry into World War II.At any rate, I can't help wondering how this film went over in Japan, redintegrating, as it does, some of the anger and resentment of the war years. When two of our most advanced jet fighters down the two Zeros, the order is, "Splash the two Zeroes," and the Navy aviators chuckle with joy. The triumphant music gets louder. You can almost hear a theater audience as they grit their teeth and shout, "That's right -- kick some ASS!" And when Douglas orders the Nimitz to prepare for battle, and we see the crew rushing around arming bombs while horns honk, drums pound out a march, trumpets blare, and the notes of the national anthem creep into the score, there is the same emotional charge. Douglas orders an air strike against the Japanese fleet but then recalls the flight. "Damn, they're going to let the Japs do it again!", complains one of the aviators. The writing, the direction, and the score promote the kind of child-like enthusiasm that one finds at a high school football game. It's an appeal to some of our basest instincts.

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).

"The Final Countdown" does offer up one of those classic dilemmas common to time travel stories: What if you went back in time with knowledge of events that were going to unfold? Would you do something about it? Or let history take its course?That dilemma faces the men aboard the aircraft carrier The U.S.S. Nimitz, which somehow or other is sent back in time - with a fair amount of razzle-dazzle special effects - to just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Involved in the mounting drama are the crafts' captain (Kirk Douglas), a civilian observer (Martin Sheen), assorted personnel (including Ron O'Neal and James Farentino), and a senator (Charles Durning), whose rescue might set in motion a different chain of events.The cast, writers, and crew were clearly having a great time with this fanciful premise. Led by director Don Taylor ("Escape from the Planet of the Apes", "Damien: Omen II"), they take full advantage of official Navy cooperation. There's some exciting action, very nice widescreen photography (this is the kind of movie that needs to be seen in its intended aspect ratio, 2.35:1), and soaring music by John Scott. Pacing is effective, the dialogue intelligent, and the story completely absorbing. One will want to keep watching this just to see how things develop.The acting is effective in every major role. Douglas is solid as a rock in the lead; his company Bryna produced the picture. Katharine Ross provides a female presence to add just a little bit of romance to the plot. If one is a fan of the low budget, schlocky productions of the Troma company, they'll definitely note the presence here of Troma president Lloyd Kaufman, who's the associate producer, unit production manager, and a bit player.It's worth sticking with just for the "twist" ending, even if some viewers are able to predict it.Eight out of 10.