On F List of Movie Reviews

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The Final Countdown (1980)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 8/26

8/26: It's hard to sink a goldmine premise, but The Final Countdown just did.

The first forty minutes is quite boring to sit through, thanks to too much military and metal. By the time the mystery is presented, my attention is finally grabbed. It comes down to this: a U.S. battleship is transported to 1941 almost forty years earlier, but why? What's the goal? The movie doesn't offer much in terms of answers.

At least, the ending explains the car from the start, so it is about getting the collie back? If that's the case, I find it weird. What happens if the U.S. rewrote history by stopping Japan from attacking Pearl Harbor? It'll be a bad idea because that event is the single reason why U.S. became a superpower country.

Anyway, the star-studded cast helps: Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Charles Durning, Ryan O'Neal, James Farentino, and Katharine Ross. But there's barely anyone else involved given the large number of personnel required to operate a battleship. Plus, strong editing is badly needed which is the chief reason why Top Gun worked.

All in all, if not for the time travel aspect, The Final Countdown becomes a military ennui.

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