The Final Countdown (1980) Movie Review

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ABC Film Challenge – Action – F – The Final Countdown

Director: Don Taylor

Writer: Thomas Hunter, Peter Powell, David Ambrose, Gerry Davis (Screenplay)

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino, Ron O’Neal, Charles Durning

Plot: A modern aircraft carrier is thrown back in time to 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Final Countdown starts when Captain Matthew Yelland (Douglas) finds his aircraft carrier thrown back before the Pearl Harbour attack in 1941. Government figure Warren Lasky (Sheen) is on the ship, becoming the suspect behind the incident.

The crew are left with an impossible situation. Whereby they could attack the Japanese fleet heading to Pearl Harbour. Thereby stopping the attack in the first place. Even with the minor help they offered, they have changed history, only how much have they changed.

Thoughts on The Final Countdown

The Final Countdown is an action sci-fi movie revolving around tiem travel. The story follows the concept that an aircraft carrier has traveled back in time to the outskirts of Pearl Harbour. Leaving the crew with the impossible discussion. Should they prevent the attack on Pearl Harbour attack or not. If they attack, they start the war on Japan, if they don’t thousands of lives will be lost.

This is a movie that challenges time travel on the highest level. Where the time travel itself is unexplained, the cause-and-effect discussion is massive. Other movies have discussed the idea of preventing a disaster in the past. Some people actually change causing bigger problems down the line. This asks the big question, without wanting to get into too much detail about it.

The performances in the movie are strong. Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen will show the conflict about the bigger decision going on within the movie.

Final Thoughts – The Final Countdown is an interesting movie that is filled with bigger questions.