SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

BA_Harrison The Final Countdown takes what would have made for a very entertaining Twilight Zone episode and manages to turn it into a surprisingly effective full length feature, one that poses that old scientific dilemma: if you had the power to prevent a catastrophe in the past, would you do so, knowing full well that the future would be irrevocably altered in the process?Kirk Douglas, as aircraft carrier captain Matthew Yelland, is faced with precisely this decision after he and his crew travel through a time portal on their vessel, arriving on the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour during WWII. With modern planes and missiles at their disposal, should they intercept the enemy or let history take its course?With a superb cast (Charles Durning, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Katherine Ross), an intelligent script, and a real aircraft carrier and its jets at his disposal, director Don Taylor delivers a thoroughly absorbing tale that offers both exciting action (the flying scenes are wonderful—who needs CGI when you have the real deal?) and intense drama.While those expecting an action packed battle between modern jets and Japanese fighter planes will undoubtedly feel a little cheated by the film's less than spectacular denouement, which solves Yelland's awkward problem with the introduction of a second very timely time portal, the fun twist ending should leave most viewers with a big grin on their face.

Paul McComas And better.That said, anything with Martin Sheen is worth watching. He's even brilliant in his small yet key role in THE DEAD ZONE. And of course he's brilliant as Pres. Jed Bartlett throughout the entire run of THE WEST WING.As for THE FINAL COUNTDOWN, it's basically two TZ episodes -- "The Odyssey of Flight 33" and "Back There" -- mashed together ... with a WW II spin.Skip TFC and check out TZ. TFC is okay, but Rod Serling was a one-in-a-million genius.

comicman117 In the 1980 Worst of Episode, Gene Siskel said that the Final Countdown suffered from the idiotic plot. Now you could consider the plot to be ridiculous, but I personally don't think the plot is idiotic in any way; in fact the plot is quite interesting.Although the Final Countdown is not a particularly great movie, it is entertaining and interesting. The whole idea of trying to stop a historical event (in this case the bombing of pearl harbor) is something that has been done in fiction before. But it's always interested me. What if you had to opportunity to stop a great disaster, would you?The cast is great. You got Kirk Douglas as the gruff Captain, Martin Sheen as the Skipper whose the most intelligent member of the crew, James Farentino as the Wing Commander, Ron O'Neal as the other commander, Katherine Ross as a woman from 1945 who doesn't serve any real purpose until the end and seems to be their just so they can have a female in the film, Charles Durning as a senator from 1945 whose very important to the plot of the film. Lloyd Kaufman (who was an associate producer, back when he was still involved with mainstream films) also makes an unrecognizable appearance as a member of the crew. His character being named Kaufman in the credits was obviously intentional. He didn't really stand out though, so I didn't notice him on first viewing.The music by John Scott is great too. It gives me a heroic / war feel.The time vortex scene is cool, even if it does feel somewhat outdated by today's standards.Course this being a time travel film, means there are plot holes, but I was able to enjoy the film regardless. It's somewhat silly, but it's entertaining.Plus it's a better Pearl Harbor movie than Pearl Harbor was.

Scott LeBrun "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.