The Final Countdown

Growing up winter Sundays with my dad always included movies, often war films with The Duke and others. When I first saw The Final Countdown it wasn't with dad, but it was a film that reminded me of those great Sunday afternoons, and had such a cool twist! No spoilers here.The Final Countdown is a solid war picture with some great names and faces. Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen lead this cast into Pearl Harbor and a mysterious mission. Once out to sea the aircraft carrier awaits its planes to land when something mysterious happens... the adventure begins and while Kirk oversees his crew and ship, Martin helps figure out what's going on.Add in the fact that it's December 6th and... On the morning of December 7 Kirk has decisions to make and people to save. Martin has a mystery to explain, and none of it is believable - except, that's the brilliance of this story and cast - they do it beautifully and all IS explained.I've watched The Final Countdown many times over the years, always loving the twist and the ending. When Amazon had a great price on streaming, I had to add it back into my library (I had the DVD). I'll watch The Final Countdown many more times and find it cool every time. This one holds up - which is saying a lot. War picture, mystery, suspense, great acting, sci fi... great cast... great storytelling... so many reasons to enjoy The Final Countdown.

I am a history buff so this movie hits all my buttons. The idea is intriguing and makes one wonder how much technology really matters. Also, I like Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen so it rates well there. The twist at the end is delightful!

I've loved this movie since it first came out. While dated, it is still a great movie.

The Nimitz travels through a twice-recurring wormhole to Dec 6th 1941.It takes the crew a bit to figure out what's happened.Then the conundrum: do you allow Dec 7th to happen as history suggests, or do you launch your technologically-superior aircraft to intercept the Japanese fleet? Can you have spoiler alerts for a movie this old? Well, here they come:One officer demands action.Another waffles, weighing the possibilities of interfering.Another wrongly states that they can't do anything because America hasn't been attacked yet. This is incorrect: the Japanese attacked and destroyed the pleasure yacht carrying Senator Samuel L. Chapman, flying the American flag.Conundrum: the Senator, his political assistant and her dog are rescued and brought aboard the Nimitz, along with a Japanese Zero pilot. The Senator and all aboard the yacht disappeared. Historically, they died.The Captain finally decides to launch an attack against the Japanese fleet.Surprise! The wormhole reappears as his aircraft are approaching the enemy.Zap! Back to 1979!Problems: Everyone on board. Why? Because they all went back in time. So, their lives are irrevocably changed. This skews the timeline.Also, the Japanese pilot kills three guards, cutting off the timeline for those persons. Timeline skewed, again.Then, the pilot is killed. Who would survive the attack because he is dead? Would the aircraft he was assigned to shoot on the runway launch? Would they kill any Japanese? Timelines skewed: unknown.Additionally, because nobody wanted to murder the people who did not, as history recorded, die at sea; the Captain decides to marron them on a small island not far from Pearl Harbor.Unfortunately, the Senator grabs a flare gun, a struggle ensues and he and the helicopter crew of 4 are killed in an explosion. Four more timelines skewed.One of the pilots from the Nimitz is marooned with Chapman's lovely and very intelligent assistant. They spend the next 40 years, together, using knowledge the pilot has of events (he's a bit of a historian), from 1941 onward, building a business empire. The paradoxes involved in 40 years of skewed timelines isn't even calculable.When the Nimitz returns, the world would have changed dramatically. We don't know what else the pilot who was stranded interfered with; did he influence WW 2? Did he use his knowledge of jet propulsion to help introduce jet-powered aircraft to the Allies?Did he approach the Russians and alter the course of their involvement, saving tens of thousands of Russians and making the U.S. and Russia steadfast allies?This movie fails in many, many ways.It's still a fun ride, however. You know, suspension of disbelief and all that.

Very good movie with twist and turns through out. A "what if" type of movie, how many can you count? USS Nimitz at Pearl in 1941, different Vice President, attack on Japanese fleet, how many if all of their carriers would be destroyed, aircraft shot down and of course if Japanese pilot had radioed and was believed????? Would they have retreated? Hmmmm, would we have had the fight Japan????Another part, Commander Owens, CAG, what did he see when he looked at the injured pilot??I thought Charlie was the best actor! With Douglas, Sheen and Ross as supporting actors, I loved the movie. I pull it out at least twice a year.Can't believe I seen a Pinto and Corvair in opening scenes, LOL

Even for its age it still is good. Great glimpse of a navy fighter squadron and their routines.

Filming was great. Set the stage for modern jet fighter filming sequences. Intriguing plot and excellent acting. Always love to watch this movie and feel nostalgic about the Navy!

Buena película, para dejar volar la imaginación. Llegó antes de lo ofrecido.

Una gran película sobretodo para ver los F14, no se la pueden perder

Excelente película. Excelentes actores .

I purchased this item to replace a previous copy that went missing. This German bluray is a vast improvement over the Blue Underground disk it replaced. Picture quality much better. The DTS sound is vastly superior. Special effects very good for the time. Acting generally good.During my service in the R.A.N I was posted to the U.S for two years. My ship operated with a similar carrier, the Carl Vincent off Hawaii. I spent a day on it so the movie has a familiar feel to it.If you are a time travel fan this is worth buying.

Muy buena pelicula.