The ending is a cop out, it seem to be offering some great potential and then fails to deliver. Not just the action fans were disappointed but many of the average viewers who just was waiting for the 1970's air force to wipe out the Japanese fleet. Because this did not occurred many people shrug their heads and say , it was ok, but it should have been made for TV.
I saw the film again last week, for the first time in widescreen and stereo. Beats the pan-and-scan TV version I had seen earlier. I'm a sucker for time travel films, and this one is better than most. Maybe I haven't seen enough of these films, but I haven't seen one yet where the screenwriter could figure out how to have the heroes actually change history (at least on some important event) and still have the story be credible. Just like every episode of TV's "The Time Tunnel" did, there always is a copout at the end. THE FINAL COUNTDOWN has a nice ending scene that brings the story around full circle. It doesn't tie up all the loose ends, but it made me leave the film happy.
I'm a big fan of Scott's score, and I'd wager that he purposely played down the sci-fi elements and played up the military ones in order to make the story seem more plausible. Given the rather blase reactions of the main protagonists (and particularly the ship's crew) to the incredible thing that has just happened to them, a more forceful sci-fi score would really be in sharp relief to their laid-back acceptance of things.
It's not a great film (Directed by Don Taylor), nor is it one of John Scott's more distinguished efforts. It boasts a memorable theme, which is being repeated (almost) ad nauseam, and little else of note.
It's not a great film (Directed by Don Taylor), nor is it one of John Scott's more distinguished efforts. It boasts a memorable theme, which is being repeated (almost) ad nauseam, and little else of note.
And you dare to use the alias "Only good music" ?!
It's not a great film (Directed by Don Taylor), nor is it one of John Scott's more distinguished efforts. It boasts a memorable theme, which is being repeated (almost) ad nauseam, and little else of note.
And you dare to use the alias "Only good music" ?!
It always felt to me like a "Star Trek" episode without the "Trek" elements.
More like an action-oriented, feature-length ep of the Twilight Zone. I think you could program an entire season of TZ eps where characters are transported back in time like this (but never change the past, though some characters manage to die in the past).
This is an engaging movie with a fairly memorable score. Solid action writing. The whole thing is still B-grade film-making.
$100 and up for this OOP disc? Glad I got mine when I did.
