The Final Countdown

[Zeta]

Curious what people think of this movie. I watched it on Netflix streaming yesterday - the first time since I since saw it in the theater in 1980. I think they wimped out on the premise - it would have been very fun to see the Nimitz engage the Japanese fleet with modern weapons technology. I also thought the Navy came across as slightly incompetent: they allowed a Japanese prisoner to grab a gun on the ship and also allowed the Senator to get his hands on a flare gun in the helicopter. With that said, I love the scene where the Navy jets engage the Japanese Zeros and would have enjoyed seeing more of that in a larger battle. Thoughts?

 

[Mysterion]

I like this movie, have it on DVD, and pull it out to watch it again from time to time.

I also would hvae liked to have seen Nimitz go into Pearl Harbor and change history, but then you'd ahve an entirely different movie that would have been two hours longer or leave a lot of questions unanswered.

As it is, though, i like the way that Nimitz's CO has to face that moral dillema: change history but doom his crew to living in the past, or save his crew and not the troops at Pearl Harbor.

side note: you might be intereded in the "Axis of Time" series by John Birmingham (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_time) which sets up a similar premise to Final Countdown, but keeps the ships from the future in WW2 for the duration.

 

[Zeta]

Thanks Mysterion; I agree, it would have created a very complicated movie if the Nimitz did engage the Japanese fleet. I will check out the Axis of Time series - it looks great!

Regarding the Nimitz Captain, I thought he was a little too quick to accept the situation and did not appear to think through the ramifications of engaging the Japanese fleet and the impact on history. I also thought the second time storm was a bit of a "Deus ex Machina" in resolving the situation. Overall, however, I did enjoy the movie!

 

[Kail]

I enjoy this movie. To me it goes hand in hand with The Philadelphia Experiment.

 

[Mr Light]

When I was a little kid I would rent this movie over and over again from the video store. Having seen it again for the first time since my childhood, I have no idea why I would have sat through that over and over I guess I was just excited because they actually filmed it on an aircraft carrier and I was obsessed with them back in the day.

They should totally do a remake where the Nimitz attacks the Japanese fleet

 

[Mysterion]

Regarding the Nimitz Captain, I thought he was a little too quick to accept the situation and did not appear to think through the ramifications of engaging the Japanese fleet and the impact on history. I also thought the second time storm was a bit of a "Deus ex Machina" in resolving the situation. Overall, however, I did enjoy the movie!

I always saw it as implied that he thought those things through.

And, as we see at the end of the story, things happened just the way they were suppossed to. Must have been one of those "pre-destination paradoxes that the DTI is always yammering on about.

 

[Amaris]

I watched it the other day for the first time in years (thank you Netflix). It was just as fun as when I remembered seeing it as a child. Oh, the storyline's not as cohesive, and the characters are a little more hokey in places, but still, a good popcorn flick to watch nonetheless.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

duh da dinh do The Final Countdown ...

 

[Chaos Descending]

I served on the Nimitz from 1995 to 1999. They showed that movie on the ship's TV channel A LOT! Before that, it was one of my favorite movies. Afterwards, after having seen it about seventy times over two six month deployments, I'm not quite as fond of it as I once was.

Also, my cousin's husband served on the Nimitz from about 1979 to about 1982. He can be seen on the bridge during one scene of the film for about three-quarters of a second!

 

[marillion]

I like this movie, have it on DVD, and pull it out to watch it again from time to time.

I also would hvae liked to have seen Nimitz go into Pearl Harbor and change history, but then you'd ahve an entirely different movie that would have been two hours longer or leave a lot of questions unanswered.

As it is, though, i like the way that Nimitz's CO has to face that moral dillema: change history but doom his crew to living in the past, or save his crew and not the troops at Pearl Harbor.

side note: you might be intereded in the "Axis of Time" series by John Birmingham (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_time) which sets up a similar premise to Final Countdown, but keeps the ships from the future in WW2 for the duration.

I REALLY enjoyed that trilogy. Would love to see movies made from it. What I really got a kick out of was the future folks' attempts to assimilate into 1940's society.. There's a scene where one of the characters is remarking how EVERYTHING smells like smoke becuase back then, everyone smoked. And then there was the problem of the African American officers/crew having to deal with a pre-civil rights society.. A really well written series. Must read it again.

As for the Final Countdown, it's a personal fav.. My dad and I used to watch it all the time back in the day.

This is actually one movie I wouldn't mind seeing remade as well as reimagined, so that perhaps we could get into the battle... And maybe not make it Pearl Harbor, but another major battle... I dunno...

 

[Corran Horn]

I thought it was a great decision...basically saying, hey, no matter what year it is we're a US Navy vessel and we're not just going to sit by and let it happen.

Would've loved to have seen the battle.

I have it on DVD...supposedly there's a great commentary on there but I've never listened to it.

 

[Admiral2]

Curious what people think of this movie. I watched it on Netflix streaming yesterday - the first time since I since saw it in the theater in 1980. I think they wimped out on the premise - it would have been very fun to see the Nimitz engage the Japanese fleet with modern weapons technology. I also thought the Navy came across as slightly incompetent: they allowed a Japanese prisoner to grab a gun on the ship and also allowed the Senator to get his hands on a flare gun in the helicopter. With that said, I love the scene where the Navy jets engage the Japanese Zeros and would have enjoyed seeing more of that in a larger battle. Thoughts?

One of my favorite movies of ALL FREAKIN' TIME!

-It's not a copout. The purpose of the timeslip was to deliver "Mr. Tideman" to the past, not to have Nimitz spank the Japanese.

-Dude, Hollywood makes everybody look stupid at one point or another. It makes for more drama.

 

[Galileo7]

Good movie with a Rod Serling's Twilight Zone time travel element.

 

[doubleohfive]

I simply cannot see this thread title without thinking of Gob Bluth...

 

[Chaos Descending]

I simply cannot see this thread title without thinking of Gob Bluth...

Slightly off topic, but I had never seen Arrested Development up until a week and a half ago. My wife and I have, since then, watched every single episode, thanks to Netflix.

God, what a wonderful show that was!

 

[Admiral2]

This is actually one movie I wouldn't mind seeing remade as well as reimagined, so that perhaps we could get into the battle... And maybe not make it Pearl Harbor, but another major battle... I dunno...

Every time I thought about a remake of this I always imagine Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen taking over their fathers' roles.

Of course, that was before mister "tiger blood" went apeshit...

 

[doubleohfive]

I simply cannot see this thread title without thinking of Gob Bluth...

Slightly off topic, but I had never seen Arrested Development up until a week and a half ago. My wife and I have, since then, watched every single episode, thanks to Netflix.

God, what a wonderful show that was!

Easily one of the best sitcoms ever produced. Certainly one of the best in the last decade.

Glad you guys enjoyed it. Hopefully, the movie gets made and will be good.

 

[Forbin]

Love love LOVE this movie. I remember seeing it in the theater, and the crowd going wild when the capt ordered, "Splash the Zeroes." Great score too!

The idea was borrowed for the Japanese anime "Zipang", where a 21st century Japanese destroyer is sent back to the Battle of Midway by the same time storm. The captain must decide which side to be on, if any.

And a similar storm shows up in the "Destroyermen" series of novels by Taylor Anderson. Only in this case it throws a US WWII Destroyer into an alternate South Pacific universe populated by evolved lemurs fighting evolved velociraptors, in a pre-industrial society. Suddenly a little 4-stack DD is the most powerful vessel in the world - until a Jap cruiser shows up.

 

[Mistral]

I always liked this movie because the director tried for a "smart" film-rare in scifi in that era.

The Axis of Time series is on my must read suggestion list to anyone who will listen.

 

[aelius]

I also enjoyed the movie.
And I throw in my recommendation for both "The Axis of Time" and "The Destroyermen" series. Both are very fun series with some interesting ideas.