The Final Countdown (1980) – Sci-Fi That Still Blows Minds

The Final Countdown (1980) – Sci-Fi That Still Blows Minds

What if a modern aircraft carrier—loaded with jets, missiles, and cutting-edge technology—was suddenly thrown back in time to the day before Pearl Harbor? Would you change history… or let it happen? That’s the wild question at the heart of this gripping sci-fi war thriller. A U.S. Navy ship is caught in a freak storm and ends up in 1941, just hours before the attack that launched America into World War II. The crew has the power to stop it—but if they do, what happens to the future? What would you do?

Hello to all the classic people who are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors and let you know there will be spoilers ahead. Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on the Great naval film The Final Countdown (1980).

For some reason, and I couldn’t tell you why, this film has a very low 6.7 rating on iMDB.com[1]. It’s even worse on RottenTomatoes.com, with 52 percent on the Tomatometer and 60 percent on the Popcorn audience rating[2]. Am I out of touch with movie viewers, or is this story at 103 minutes too long and complicated? Well, anyway, it has been one of my favorites since my first viewing in 1980.

Great googly-moogly. Even the great film critic Roger Ebert panned this film with a 2 of 4 stars review on August 5, 1980, saying in part:

“…That still leaves me with other problems. For example, Nimitz commander Kirk Douglas launches an air attack against the arriving Japanese Air Force… and then calls it off at the last minute, just as the Nimitz is sailing back into the second whirlpool. Why change his mind and call it off? Is he reluctant to play God? I dunno and he doesn’t say. (I can think of one good reason for calling the planes back: When the Nimitz is snatched back to 1980, they’d be left flying around the Pacific with no place to land.) The movie dodges all sorts of fundamental questions like that, and it moves so slowly, alas, that we have lots of time to ponder them.

Still, the footage aboard the carrier is good. We got an interesting notion of life on ship, and we see lots of takeoffs and even an emergency landing. This is the kind of movie that some kids would probably enjoy – it’s filled with technology, special effects and action. But it just doesn’t make any sense. And it lacks the wit to have fun with its time travel paradoxes, as last year’s wonderful “Time After Time” did. It just plows ahead. Or behind. Or somewhere.”[3]

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert placed this film on their list of the worst movies of 1980. Well, let’s move on to the actors and see if we can bring the mood up a bit.

Actors – The Final Countdown (1980)

Returning

The boundless actor Kirk Douglas played the U.S.S. Nimitz commander, Capt. Matthew Yelland. This wonderful actor was first covered in another naval yarn, In Harm’s Way (1965). Douglas was over the top in his acting with lines like, “I have no idea what the hell is going on.”

Ron O’Neal played Executive Officer Cdr. Dan Thurman. O’Neal was first covered in the action-packed Red Dawn (1984) and is probably best known for playing the lead in the action-packed Superfly (1972).

Katharine Ross played the role of Senatorial Secretary Laurel Scott. She also held up the love interest role for the entire film. Ross was first covered in the cheesy but fun John Wayne oil well firefighting film Hellfighters (1968), where she also held down the love interest role.

Large man and great dancer Charles Durning played the role of Senator Samuel Chapman. Durning was covered in the enjoyable holiday film Home for the Holidays (1995). He is also known for his role in The Sting (1973) and as the grumpy governor of Mississippi, “Pappy” O’Daniel, in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).

New

James Farentino played the role of Cdr. Richard Owens (and someone else). He was born in 1938 in New York City. He was educated in the Brooklyn parochial school system and later studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, class of 1958.

By the name, I thought James Farentino was a more popular actor. In fact, he was in a lot of good movies. His most notable films include Ensign Pulver (1964), The War Lord (1965), The Family Rico (1972), today’s film The Final Countdown (1980), and Bulletproof (1996).

Farentino was more active on television, appearing in miniseries and made-for-TV movies. He appeared in the legal drama “The Bold Ones: The Lawyers” from 1968 to 1972, starring in 19 episodes. Farentino played Peter in the miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth” in 1977. He was on Dynasty for 20 episodes from 1981 to 1982.

Farentino, one of the last Universal contract actors, retired from acting in the 2000s. He had some legal problems and died in 2012.

Martin Sheen was the main driver of this film as a civilian consultant to the Navy, Warren Lasky. Sheen is a huge star, but I never realized until I began putting this together how much of his career was spent on television as opposed to film.

Sheen was born in Ohio in 1940. His parents were immigrants; his father was from Spain, and his mother was from Ireland. His birth name was Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez. Sheen attended a Catholic high school in Dayton. He failed the entrance exam for the University of Dayton, possibly on purpose. He moved to New York and began working in theater.

Sheen began appearing on television in 1961, starring in shows such as “Route 66,” “Naked City,” “Ironside,” “Columbo,” “Hawaii Five-O,” and “Mod Squad.” In 1964, Sheen appeared on Broadway in “The Subject Was Roses.” He also appeared in the movie The Subject Was Roses (1968).

Sheen’s film debut was in the pretty good The Incident (1967) – (Where were you, buddy?) He was really beginning to shine by the time he was in Badlands (1973) with Sissy Spacek. Sheen was outstanding in the made-for-television film “The Execution of Private Slovik” in 1974, sympathetically telling the story of one of the few American soldiers executed for cowardice during World War II.

Sheen began to secure good film roles, such as The Cassandra Crossing (1976) and Apocalypse Now (1979). I’ll just say it was uber-amazing. Other films include today’s film, The Final Countdown (1980), Enigma (1982), Gandhi (1982), and The Dead Zone (1983), where Christopher Walken is freakishly perfect. These were followed by Wall Street (1987), starring his son Charlie Sheen, and Gettysburg (1993). Sheen continued with Catch Me If You Can (2002) (with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks), The American President (1995), and the fantastic The Departed (2006). Sheen played Uncle Ben in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014).

On television’s “The West Wing,” Sheen played President Bartlet for 155 episodes from 1999 to 2006. We can only wish. He appeared in 94 episodes of “Grace and Frankie” from 2015 to 2022.

Sheen has two Daytime Emmys, one Primetime Emmy, and one Golden Globe, but has never been nominated for an Academy Award. Sheen is still active.

Story – The Final Countdown (1980)

The movie begins with military radio traffic over a black screen. Then, it reveals the engines of a badass F-14 Tomcat with the Jolly Rogers of VF-84 taking off from a land-based runway. VF-84 is the 84^th Navy Fighter Squadron 84 that existed between July 1955 and October 1995.[4] It used the skull and crossbones of a golden-era pirate ship flag known as the Jolly Roger.

A Navy Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopter flies across the runway after the jet is gone. The credits begin to roll. A rather tricked-out limousine enters the gates of Pearl Harbor Naval base as the helicopter lands at a hangar near the pier.

Warren Laskey (Martin Sheen) is dropped off by a military car and is about to climb onto the helicopter when he notices the limo parked in a manner to watch his departure. He walks towards the car but is prevented from seeing the passenger by the driver and his assistant. He is told that his mysterious boss, Mr. Tideman, is in the car. He has never met Tideman, and they refuse to allow him to approach the limo.

Laskey departs in the Sea King helicopter. Views of Diamond Head in Hawaii are shown as they fly. Eventually, they pass over the memorial for the sunken U.S.S. Arizona that went down on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese Empire attacked the base, bringing America into World War II.

Laskey is hiloed to the aircraft carrier. The carrier is being escorted by some Destroyers and has at least one Soviet fishing trawler following behind. On the deck, Laskey is greeted by the Executive Officer, Cdr. Dan Thurman (Ron O’Neal). He is then escorted to the bridge, where he is to meet Capt. Matthew Yelland (Kirk Douglas).

The ship is in the process of landing jets on the deck, and they mention that the CAG, Commander Air Group, is inbound. They show the landing and the recovery wire. It is as exciting as anything in Top Gun (1986). The CAG lands, and it is Cdr. Richard Owens (James Farentino). On the way to the bridge, Cdr. Thurman grills Laskey about his Defense Department work for Tideman Industries. Laskey explains that he is a systems analyst, or essentially an efficiency expert.

When leaving the flight deck, Cdr. Owens mentions that the weather is changing.

Laskey meets Capt. Yelland, where he mentions that the weather is turning poor. Capt. Yelland quizzes Laskey about the two-day delay his arrival caused and the real purpose of his visit. Laskey is escorted to his room by a Marine guard.

The storm, consisting mainly of lightning bolts, is moving closer to the ship. Capt. Yelland mentions that the weather officer, Black Cloud (Victor Mohica), forecasted clear weather for the day. Having a Native American as a weather officer is a good 1980s joke, and yes, they do make the rain dance reference later.

In the weather office, scans are showing that the storm is cycling in and out of phase. Black Cloud thinks it’s a mechanical problem.

Laskey explores his bare room before heading into the adjoining room that is Cdr. Owens bunk. There are numerous photographs, books, manuscripts, and writings on the subject of the Pearl Harbor attack. Laskey begins reading the writing.

Capt. Yelland is told that the last aircraft to be recovered is having problems because of the storm.

At the same time, Cdr. Owens catches Laskey in his room reading his research. Cdr. Owens throws a hissy fit, and Laskey gets out as quickly as he can. He does mention several times that what he read was very good.

Black Cloud reports to the captain, and they see on the scope that the storm is phasing in and out. It now appears as a blue circular storm. Capt. Yelland sends the Destroyers back to Pearl. They are informed that the last flight coming in cannot deploy its tailhook. They rig the barricade but don’t post heavy equipment behind like was done in The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954).

The blue storm hits the ship before the plane lands. Equipment stops, and people are affected by loud, debilitating harmonics. The ship passes through the storm, and the weather is suddenly clear. Capt. Yelland orders the crew to General Quarters.

The last airplane is still inbound. The pilot manages to land and is stopped by the barricade. However, the pilot is dead.

The Destroyers and the Russian trawler are no longer seen on the scope. The radios are not working either. Yelland has Owen put two Tomcats on alert, a Crusader, a supersonic jet fighter, on a photo run of Pearl Harbor, and a Hawkeye, a mini-AEWC, to check communications. He sends Thurman to check the threat board in case it was a nuclear attack. As Laskey arrives, Yelland calls for all department heads to a meeting. That was very Star Trek: The Next Generation of him.

In the threat room, the operator is receiving an old radio code. The crew is on edge because they don’t know what is happening. Yelland, very humanly, admits he doesn’t know what is happening before he checks in with each department head. Communication cannot contact anyone. Laskey has nothing to add to the meeting.

The Crusader makes a high and then a low pass over Pearl Harbor. Communications says they are receiving it on the AM channel. They are receiving a Jack Benny and Rochester show. Yelland orders a strike group and tankers on standby. The crew arms the aircraft for a fight.

Radar reports a surface contact. Yelland orders the two Tomcats into the air to identify the surface contact.

The Crusader returns from Pearl.

Prior to contact, the surface contact is shown to be a vintage yacht out of Pearl Harbor. On board are Senator Samuel Chapman (Charles Durning ), Senatorial Secretary Laurel Scott (Katharine Ross), Arthur Bellman (Harold Bergman), an aide, and a ship captain. Laurel is the brains behind the Senator. She has her Dog Charlie with her on board.

Laurel is helping the senator angle for the Vice-presidential slot during the next administration. Arthur is only concerned with gossip about Laurel. Charlie, the Dog, begins to react to distant rumbling. The two Tomcats make a high-speed pass over the yacht. Everyone on the yacht is awestruck as they have never seen anything so fast. Chapman thinks it is a secret military project that he hasn’t been informed about yet. 

The Tomcats report that it is an antique yacht in mint condition. Yelland sends tankers/refulers to the location so the Tomcats can remain near the contact.

The crew listens to a radio broadcast from the 1940s. Yelland takes Laskey and Thurman outside for a talk. Yelland thinks there has been an attack. Thurman questions Laskey if he has hidden information about the event.

Yelland and Thurman are called to the plot room, where they hear a radio broadcast about the nazzie invasion of the Soviet Union. An enlisted man hears the broadcast and thinks a new world war has started. Of course, he shares the bogus information with the crew. The photographs from the run over Pearl Harbor are brought to Yelland. Yelland recognizes the photo as being from before World War II. They request that Laskey be brought in for consultation.

Under questioning from Yelland, Laskey confirms again that he is not holding back any information. When Laskey is shown the images, he asks that Owen come up and bring his research photographs.

The Tomcats begin the in-flight refueling, and it’s a nice aerial sequence.

Owens confirms to Yelland that the recon pictures are how Pearl Harbor looked on the eve of December 6, 1941. Yelland gets word that two unknown aircraft are 125 miles out from the carrier. He redirects the Tomcats to identify the blips.

The Tomcats identify the blips as Japanese Mitsubishi A-6M Zeros in mint condition. These planes would be over 40 years old on the carrier timeline. Yelland has the Tomcats stay at a high altitude and observe.

Yelland, Thurman, Owens, and Laskey talk. Laskey is the first to bring up time travel and things that humans have yet to learn.

Back on the yacht, everyone is relaxing when they hear the drone of the approaching Zeros. The two Zeros make a pass over the yacht and quickly turn back towards the boat. The Zeros open fire with their machine guns. The captain and Arthur are killed. With the Zeros approaching again, Chapman tells Laurel to get off the yacht. They jumped into the water, followed by a below-deck deck crew member and the Dog.

The Tomcats report the strafing of the yacht to Yelland. Owens says the Zeros would attack the civilian boat because it may use its radio to warn of their presence in the area. Yelland asks where the Japanese fleet would be to the northwest of Hawaii. Yelland orders a mini-AEWC airborne to check that location. The Tomcats are not authorized to fire.

The second pass of the Zeros causes the yacht to explode. The Zeros return for another strafing pass. Laurel and Chapman take off their life preservers and dive. The helper doesn’t know how to swim and stays on the surface. He is killed by the bullets. Learn to swim!

Yelland orders the Tomcats to draw the Zeros off but not to fire at the planes. In my opinion, this led to one of the greatest aerial sequences in movie history. The music and the juxtaposition of those amazing jets flying in close proximity to the vintage Zeros are amazing. Another thing I like here is that one Japanese pilot fires at an airplane that clearly outclasses it. We often forget that these are the best-trained and most aggressive fliers the Japanese had during the entire war.

Once they are shot at, the Tomcats are authorized to fire back. The first pilot downs a Zero with his machine gun. The other pilot uses a missile. Hey man, missiles are expensive. Learn to fight.

“I’m too close for missiles, I’m switching to guns.”

Laurel and the Dog Charlie are playing Jack and Rose with a piece of floating board. I think they could both fit on it, but the Dog wants his own piece.

The E-2 mini-AEWC reports the Japanese attack fleet at the expected location, and Yelland accepts the fact that they have gone back in time.

Yelland orders a rescue helicopter with Owens to pick up the yacht survivors and a surviving Japanese pilot. He tells Owens to keep the survivors isolated.

At the wreck site, the diver goes into the water and hooks the Senator first. The Dog is standing on its own board when Laurel tries to swim to it. Seeing that she is struggling, Owens jumps into the water. He tells her to forget the Dog as the diver hooks her to the sling and they pull her inside the helicopter. Owens rides up on the sling, and he is holding the Dog. Laurel is in love with future man. The Senator questions Owens, and the commander recognizes the name.

Another helicopter picks up the surviving Japanese pilot, Simura (Soon-Tek Oh). Simura is shocked by what he sees on the aircraft carrier.

Yelland takes Thurman, Owens, and Laskey for another talk. Yelland wants to know what the next step should be. Thurman wants to attack, while Laskey only thinks about what can be done with the information. Owens feels that they can’t do anything to change the past. Yelland decides that defending the U.S. is their mission.

Senator Chapman is not happy to be held below deck. Laurel is okay when Charlie the Dog is returned to her.

Back in the cabins, Laskey invades Owens’ room again, looking for information. When Owens returns, he realizes that his material has been moved. Laskey mentions to Owens that Chapman, a warhawk, went missing after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Otherwise, he may have become FDR’s running mate and would have acceded to the presidency on FDR’s death. Owens is not pleased with the potential changes to history.

Senator Chapman thinks this is a trick that FDR has cooked up to make himself look good after he sends his surprise carrier to defeat the Japanese.

Owens and Laskey go to where the Senator and Laurel are being held. They pass Simura, who is being questioned by an interpreter. When Owens opens the door, Chapman charges towards him, and the Dog escapes. Laskey grabs the Dog. This distracts the guard long enough for Simura to grab his weapon and kill him and another Marine. Marines quickly surround the area where the armed prisoner is holding Laskey, Chapman, Owens, and Laurel.

They obtain a translator, and Simura requests a radio so he can communicate with his commander. The Marines bust in through a door that Owens opens, and the prisoner grabs Laurel. Yelland says he can use the radio if he lets Laurel go free. At the suggestion of Laskey, Owens is ordered to tell the prisoner the coming battle plan for the attack.

Both Chapman and Simura are in shock at the news. A Marine moves too quickly, and Simura shoots him. The other Marines gun the prisoner down.

Owens comforts Laurel, but he won’t tell her what is happening. Before long, she becomes concerned about the missing Dog.

Yelland speaks with Senator Chapman, and the Senator cannot accept that one carrier can ward off an entire invasion fleet. Yelland agrees to let Chapman contact Pearl Harbor. The call goes very poorly as the people at Pearl think Chapman is playing a prank. Owens is pleased with Laurel’s liberated attitude.

Yelland, Chapman, Laurel, Owens, and Laskey meet in one of the offices. Chapman demands to be taken to Pearl Harbor. Yelland agrees to do so. Laurel is still trying to find the Dog. Yelland tells Owens to drop Chapman and Laurel on a deserted island near Pearl Harbor. He tells Owens to be back by 8:00 a.m. so he can lead the strike against the Japanese.

Laskey asks Owens to take him to Pearl, but soon realizes the helicopter is not going to Pearl.

In the carrier hangar, armament crews are loading every plane that can fight. Captain Yelland goes on the ship’s address system and tells the crew that they have travelled back in time. He says he plans to change the outcome of the battle.

Loading activity and flight operations kick into high gear with a stimulating patriotic soundtrack. Laskey finds the missing Dog Charlie.

The helicopter lands on a deserted beach. Laurel and Owens get out, but Chapman hangs back, knowing he is being tricked. Chapman grabs a flare gun and holds the helicopter crew hostage. He orders them up, and Owens hangs from the door, trying to stop the liftoff. An injured crewman jumps Chapman and the flare gun goes off. The helicopter explodes and drops off radar.

With Owens lost, Yelland orders the attack to commence. There is a nice, long montage of jets being handled and launched.

Owens and Laurel are stranded on the island. As she checks out the C-rations and thinks about the situation, the Japanese attack force flies over en route to Pearl. A massive modern attack force is en route to intercept the Japanese.

The weather officer, Black Cloud, is shown that the time portal storm has reappeared. Yelland watches the storm as the attack is about 6 minutes away. By the time they are 4 minutes out, the weather is turning bad. Black Cloud tells the captain that the storm is changing course and following them.

Yelland begins to recall his attack force, but Laskey thinks they should correct all of history’s mistakes going forward. Yelland orders the planes to return to the ship. The fighters are disappointed that the attack is happening again.

The carrier goes through the storm, and the men are physically suffering. This is intercut with great shots of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I’ll talk more about this in the conclusion. The carrier makes it into the clear, but the airplanes are not back. Finally, they make it through the storm and back to the ship. There is another great montage of flybys and landings, accompanied by appropriate patriotic music and FDR’s Infamy Speech.

The Nimitz makes it back to Pearl Harbor. Yelland renders honors to the sunken U.S.S. Arizona. When they dock, an entourage of admirals arrives. They start chewing on Yelland right away.

Laskey goes into Owens’ room and looks at his manuscript once more before leaving. Laskey has the Dog in tow. Laskey and Yelland have a pretty typical manly goodbye.

Charlie starts baking at Tideman’s limo. When the back door of the limo is opened, Charlie breaks free and runs inside. Laskey is told he can join Mr. and Mrs. Tideman in the limo. In the back are Laurel and Cmd. Owens, but 40 years older. The Dog is with Laurel.

Laurel smiles, and Owens welcomes Laskey back, saying they have a lot to talk about.

Conclusion – The Final Countdown (1980)

The scenes showing the attack on Pearl Harbor were from the absolutely great movie Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). If you haven’t seen it, please do so as soon as possible. You won’t regret the time spent.

All of the exterior filming on the Nimitz took place near the Florida Keys instead of in the Pacific Ocean as depicted in the film. The use of the Nimitz was reportedly cut short as the carrier was called to duty following the failed hostage rescue from the U.S. Embassy in Iran. I was stationed in Germany at the time, and they put us on alert. We went all the way to the border and were toe-to-toe with Ivan the Terrible. They blinked first.

Since there was no effective CGI at the time of filming, the scenes with the AT-6 Texans, mocked up to resemble A6M2 Zeroes, and the F-14 Tomcats featured the Zeros at maximum speed, while the Tomcats were flying just above stall speed. Even though they could only be in the same frame for short periods.

In a similar vein, it has been alleged that the destroyer escort U.S.S. Eldridge was part of a 1943 experiment using Albert Einstein’s unified field theory. It was either to transport the ship to other locations or to make it invisible. This story is sometimes referred to as the Philadelphia Experiment. There is no evidence to indicate that this is a true story.

However, it was made into an interesting movie called The Philadelphia Experiment (1984). The movie starred Michael Paré and Nancy Allen. The problem in the movie was that people rematerialize inside walls and decks. They were also bounced around in time.

Around this time, there was a spate of time-traveling movies, including Somewhere in Time (1980), The Terminator (1984), and Back to the Future (1985). Of course, I don’t want to leave out one of Mrs. ClassicMovieReview’s favorites, Time After Time (1979). In this film, David Warner as Jack the Ripper is friends with Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells. The Ripper steals Wells’ time machine and goes forward in time, where he thinks society has become evil enough for him. Mary Steenburgen is outstanding as a modern woman.

Two things make me very sad in this review. The first is that film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert voted this as one of the worst movies of the 1980s. I don’t see it. The second thing is that the title of today’s film inspired the Swedish rock band “Europe” to record the song “The Final Countdown” in 1986. I can’t unhear that.

There was an alternate ending filmed that I have not seen. In that ending, the Nimitz returns to the present time, and everything has changed. Holy Aperham Lincoln!

Finally, it is well known that aircraft carriers don’t operate alone. They are generally the center of a well-protected strike force. In today’s film, Yelland ordered the rest of the fleet to return to Pearl Harbor before the storm hit.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the American aircraft carriers were at sea, with most of the fleet remaining in harbor. As such, their attack mainly damaged the battleships. Of course, battleships were the pivotal ships in World War I.

The fact that the carriers were at sea has led to a persistent rumor that FDR lured the attack but protected his most valuable assets by having them at sea. The carriers were actually out doing things like supplying aircraft to Wake and Midway Islands.[5]

The importance of the aircraft carrier was not generally appreciated by the U.S. military as a whole at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. The importance of carriers was confirmed later in World War II, particularly in the pivotal battles of the Pacific, notably the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway.

There is a fairly good movie that covers a true but highly fictionalized version of the struggle for carrier preeminence during the period between the First and Second World Wars. The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955) was directed by Otto Preminger. It starred an all-star cast, including, in part, Gary Cooper, Elizabeth Montgomery, Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger, Fred Clark, Darren McGavin, Jack Lord, and Peter Graves. Check it out!

World-Famous Short Summary – They got the Dog back for 10 more years

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As a technical note, references and citations are listed for each show on the site at classicmovierev.com. The site contains a wealth of information.

Beware the moors.

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[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080736/

[2] The Final Countdown | Rotten Tomatoes

[3] The Final Countdown movie review (1980) | Roger Ebert

[4] VF-84 (1955–1995) – Wikipedia

[5] Pearl Harbor’s Untold Story: The Significance of Absent Aircraft Carriers – The National Interest