Review of The Final Countdown (1980) by Melvin W — 18 Jul 2012

Captain Yelland: Today is December 7, 1941... I'm sure we are all aware of the significance of this date in this place in history. We are going to fight a battle that was lost before most of you were born. This time, with God's help, its going to be different... Good Luck. .

"Nothing in the world can prepare you for...".

The Final Countdown is a terrible movie. You should know that. But it is one of those movies that is so bad, it's undeniably entertaining in its terribleness. Plus, a first rate cast make things go down a little better. Kirk Douglas commands the movie like a true film veteran. Martin Sheen is fine as well; as are Katherine Ross, James Farentino, and Charles Durning. Nobody is at their best, but how could you be with a movie as ridiculous as this one. .

Umm... plot; get ready. In the 1980's, the U.S.S. Nimitz is at sea, when they enter into a storm, the like of which none of them have ever seen. All of a sudden, the storm stops. They are left in sunny skies, with no damage. Everyone looks at each other. What just happened? No one knows. Soon, evidence starts trickling in that begins to make them believe they have traveled through time to December 6, 1941. Yes, the day before Pearl Harbor. When a run in with some Japanese planes confirms this; they are left to decide whether they should take action and risk changing history or let history run its course. .

Obviously, none of this is supposed to be taken seriously, but it plays itself out in a way that makes me think director Don Taylor was taking it seriously. It's a what if movie. What if a modern aircraft carrier was dropped into a battle that happened 40 years ago? What if we changed history? What if? What if? What if? That's all this movie is, is what if. .

I'm not going to say that the movie is one of the worst movies in history because it isn't. It may be one of the stupidest, but it isn't the worst. There are some redeeming qualities that make the watch more interesting. The film also made me think that making terrible movies would be the most fun job in the world. Sure, you're not going to make a lot of money and people are going to despise your work, but coming up with stupid, off the wall stuff like this and then actually filming it. It's every stoners wet dream.