The Final Countdown
A modern aircraft carrier is hurled into the hours before Pearl Harbor, forcing its crew to choose between military power and historical destiny.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- suspenseful
- heightened
- foreboding
- aviation movie night
- science fiction double feature
What critics said
Critics found the time-travel premise intriguing and the carrier operations impressive, but broadly faulted the thin characterization, slow stretches, and underdeveloped dramatic payoff.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The USS Nimitz arrives immediately before the attack on Pearl Harbor, forcing its crew to consider whether intervention could create a paradox.
Detailed takeoffs, landings, aircraft handling, and life aboard the USS Nimitz receive sustained attention.
The technologically advanced 1980 carrier and its crew confront Japanese forces and the strategic realities of 1941.
The impending Pearl Harbor attack transforms military capability into a dilemma over whether history should be changed.
Films like The Final Countdown, and why
Twelve Monkeys
shares a time travel premise, military hardware spectacle, and the tension of altering a pivotal historical event
The Philadelphia Experiment
combines science fiction with an encounter involving World War II history and questions of temporal causality
Pearl Harbor
offers naval warfare, aviation action, and a large-scale military setting shaped by historical conflict
The Final Countdown
features speculative time displacement, military decision-making, and the threat of changing history
Movie Details
- Director
- Don Taylor
- Release Date
- 1980-01-31
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (702)
Cast
- Kirk Douglas
- Martin Sheen
- Katharine Ross
- James Farentino
- Ron O'Neal
- Charles Durning
- Victor Mohica
- James Coleman
- Soon-Tek Oh
- Alvin Ing
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Night Flight Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, MovieMe
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Final Countdown about?
- A modern aircraft carrier is hurled into the hours before Pearl Harbor, forcing its crew to choose between military power and historical destiny.
- What is The Final Countdown like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Final Countdown as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Final Countdown violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Final Countdown as mild.
- What did critics think of The Final Countdown?
- Critics found the time-travel premise intriguing and the carrier operations impressive, but broadly faulted the thin characterization, slow stretches, and underdeveloped dramatic payoff.
- Which films are like The Final Countdown?
- Films with a similar feel include Twelve Monkeys, The Philadelphia Experiment, Pearl Harbor, and The Final Countdown.
- How long is The Final Countdown?
- The Final Countdown runs 103 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Final Countdown?
- In United States, The Final Countdown streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Night Flight Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Midnight Pulp Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel.
