The Final Countdown

I was aboard during the making of this movie even had a small part in it (the mess deck scene) we were done with lunch but as we were sitting there they were setting up the cameras and asked who wanted to be in a scene ,if you look all the trays are empty as we had just finished eating and were about to leave. We rehearsed the scene and then they played on a cheap cassette player the sound that was to hurt our ears, as it played we threw our trays and grabbed our heads creating the scene you see in the montages. A few days later while in V4 fuels division I was doing a recirc test while in port of the JP5 fuel system ,this involved pumping fuel to the flight deck and then recirculating it back to the pump room .long story short I opened a valve that was not supposed to be open and ended up spraying fuel all over the camera equipment and other movie related items stored in a semi trailer on the pier and drenching two limo's parked on the pier . In an investigation afterwards it was found that I was not fully at fault because the valve I opened should have been tagged "Do not open in port" my claim to fame LOL I am now retired after 23 years EM2.

The title of the movie might be that of a super-cheesy song, with that highly catchy chorus by the band Europe in the 80s. Forget it because this came first, nor does it submit to cheese/silliness in what could've been a nonsensical premise. Gladly it doesn't, however for a fantasy / Sci-fi film that's impressively ambitious, and grand in scope. Talk about a cop-out for an ending! Or was it? The novelty of the concept flourishes with intelligence and vision, but it felt like something you would find in an episode of "The Twilight Zone". Maybe it would've been better suited so. The story begins with a freak storm transporting a modern American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier back to 1941, just before the Japanese fleet bombed Pearl Harbour. Now the question is should they get involved, and fear changing the face of history. Tough call. Too bad the film doesn't really take up that challenging stance with much aplomb, and somewhat takes an easy way out.

On an ethical note, the question raised is do we really have the right to change what has already happened. The paradox brings up many interesting possibilities, and drums up unimaginable suspense. It's an anxious waiting game for the decision, and that's what its all about. After deciding, it suddenly changes and leaves you hanging there with what could've been. The final note to me, made it all the forgettable. The material might not have been wholly satisfying, but technically it mainly came off with dazzling results. What was spectacularly done was the work they managed to get while filming on the actual U.S.S Nimitz. It feels, and looks authentic… because it is. They filmed at sea on the boat, at certain intervals. The background features at times seemed to be more interesting, than the actual story. Watching the crew going through their manoeuvres was magnetically displayed. Also the aircraft scenes were remarkably done, and excitingly high powered. The special effects are dated, but managed to be atmospherically eerie and moodily colourful.

Figure heads Kirk Douglas (in a durably solid turn), Martin Sheen and at a lesser extent Charles Dunning give the film some stalwart class. Also showing up in the profound cast were Katherine Ross, James Farentino and Ron O'Neal. John Scott's heavy handed music score, was hit-and-miss, but Victor J. Kemper's expansive cinematography was professionally executed. Don Taylor's direction feels automatic, but breezy.

This boy's own adventure is an enjoyably, attention-grabbing "what if" predicament.

Making a military movie without official cooperation can be difficult. If the story doesn't require major air or naval assets, a script disapproved of by the top brass can be convincingly brought to the screen. Two examples - both true stories that the Pentagon didn't want to support - are "Men of Honor" reflecting the epidemic racism of the not-that-long-ago Navy and "Sgt. Bilko," a film portraying what some noncoms do to earn extra income (trust me, it's a true story: a real Sgt. Bilko worked (officially but not actually) for me when I was an Army officer.

But when you need lots of planes and ships, you gotta have official help. And few movies have gotten more assistance than the producer, director and cast of "The Final Countdown," now available on DVD,a sci-fi recruiting spectacular that features - on loan at taxpayer expense - the huge carrier U.S.S. Nimitz complete with crew. Now that's cooperation!

Kirk Douglas skippers the supercarrier which is on Pacific Fleet maneuvers. On board as some sort of efficiency consultant is a young Martin Sheen, not yet ready for the West Wing. A mysterious and never explained weather phenomenon grips the mighty floating air base and to the unfolding amazement of captain, officers and crew dawns the realization that the Nimitz in sailing not that far from Pearl Harbor on 6 December 1941.

Meanwhile a U.S. senator, played by one of Hollywood's deservedly decorated war heroes, Charles Durning, is enjoying his yacht, also near Pearl, while dictating to his lovely secretary, Katharine Ross. A brace of Japanese Zeroes sink the yacht, killing two passengers which then prompts the carrier C.O. to order trailing F-14 Tomcats to "splash" the "enemy." Durning and Ross are rescued. Without a word, this talented actor's face does a comical double-take when introduced to the ship's executive officer who just happens to be black (in 1941 a black navy man could only serve as a steward in the officers mess. That was it. Period.)

The dilemma facing Douglas, of course, is a classic time-travel conundrum. To interfere with the course of history (the carrier's air wing can make instant teriyaki of the six Japanese carriers) or to let events take their known and disastrous course.

A chaste incipient romance between the nearly drowned damsel and the carrier's Commander Air Group competes with the white knuckle decision-making struggle of the C.O.

So much for the plot. What is on offer here is a demonstration of every aircraft type, fixed-wing and rotary, deployed on the vessel as well as demonstrations of shipboard activities ranging from retrieving a damaged jet to going to General Quarters to...you name it. The technical advisers knew they had a film crew pliant to every suggestion. The result is a genuinely exciting show- a great warship going through its paces. And, unlike "Tora Tora Tora" it doesn't appear that any genuine sailors were harmed in the making of the movie.

There's one big problem. A science fiction story is usually utterly improbable, indeed impossible, but its internal logic is vital: it must be consistent. Spielberg understands that very well. Watch the first couple of minutes when Sheen is greeted by his employer's lackey and the last minutes when he debarks from the Nimitz. Something is very, very off-kilter. Could the CEO of a great military-industrial conglomerate have used top secret technology to send the carrier back to 1941 for...

So what. This is a beautifully filmed adventure story, not a great film. The cast probably relished taking over the carrier for a while and the real captain, never shown, surely wished that the Navy hadn't banned hard spirits from our ships in World War I. But all emerge unscathed in a genuinely entertaining romp through time.

8/10

The film is overall excellent. Good candid image of carrier life at the time. Much footage shot onboard. On the other hand, many details are wrong, most obvious is the wrong base on the wrong side of the U.S. The time travel paradox WRT Tideman is pretty interesting. I disagree with an earlier reviewer WRT this. Quantum theory allows for Tideman to exist in two states at one time since he is not observed at the beginning. The image of carrier life is especially good. I had several close friends who were officers on the Nimitz at the time it was filmed. Much better than most Hollywood movies such as "Top Gun." An interesting aside is that several Navy people got fried because of this film. This was before the "Top Gun" mentality, and Navy Brass were not too thrilled about the level of access given for this film. It was claimed that mid level officers gave approval for use of the Nimitz for this film without proper authority. This was before the Navy woke up to the recruiting potential of such films, so use of the Nimitz was regarded as fraud, waste and abuse. Acting is tacky in many cases...the ship and the aviators are the stars. Most of the effects were shot using real aircraft, again a controversial issue at the time. One of my best friends was a pilot in the "Black Panther" A-6 squadron shown. It really makes one think how average people would react if thrust into a similar situation. In short, there will likely never be a movie like this made again. It's kind of analogous to Frankenheimer's "Grand Prix" where the filmers were permitted to enter their own cars into the races. The staggering expense of producing such films makes them rare. It's too bad that some people suffered professional punishment for making Navy resources available to make this film when the Navy rewarded people involved in "Top Gun," in many ways a much less realistic film.

1980. Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is on a routine voyage off the coast of Hawaii when she travels through a strange storm. Upon clearing the storm she encounters some strange occurrences, all of which suggest she has travelled back in time in 1941. Moreover, it is 6 December 1941 and the Nimitz is in a position to prevent the disastrous outcome of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

I has low expectations for this film. The whole idea just seemed silly and merely a vehicle for that schoolboy fantasy of modern jet fighters taking on WW2 planes. However, it is far better than that.

Writers and director set the scene well. We see the everyday operation of an aircraft carrier, the different parts and people in the organisation and, of course, the machinery of war. Makes for interesting viewing, so much so that even if there was no plot the video footage could be used as a documentary.

The plot development is handled well too, to the point that the whole time-travel concept even becomes plausible. It is handled quite well, even touching on the implications of changing history.

After this great set up, the conclusion is a bit disappointing, being fairly low-key as the movie sort of fizzles out. The changing history scenario isn't fully explored and you feel that the writers missed a few opportunities to create a powerful ending.

Still, quite entertaining, especially if you like to see military aircraft in action and the workings of an aircraft carrier.