Review: "THE FINAL COUNTDOWN" is Still Timeless Entertainment

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 of 2023 (No. 1926) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Final Countdown (1980)

Running time:  103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)

MPAA – PG

DIRECTOR:  Don Taylor

WRITERS:  David Ambrose & Gerry Davis and Thomas Hunter & Peter Powell; from a story by Thomas Hunter & Peter Powell and David Ambrose

PRODUCERS:  Peter Vincent Douglas

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Vincent J. Kemper (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Robert K. Lambert

COMPOSER: John Scott

SCI-FI/MILITARY

Starring:  Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino, Ron O'Neal, Charles Durning, Victor Mohica, Soon-Teck Oh, and Alvin Ing

The Final Countdown is a 1980 science fiction war film from director Don Taylor.  The film features an ensemble cast starring such Hollywood legends and icons as Kirk Douglas, Charles Durning, and Martin Sheen.  The film focuses on the crew of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that is tossed back in time to the year 1941 near Hawaii, just a day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Final Countdown opens in 1980.  The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Nimitz, departs Naval Station Pearl Harbor for naval exercises in the mid-Pacific Ocean.  It is commanded by Captain Matt Yelland (Kirk Douglas).  The ship also takes on a civilian observer, Warren Lasky (Martin Sheen), a systems analyst for Tideman Industries.  Lasky is working as an efficiency expert for the U.S. Defense Department on the orders of his reclusive employer, Richard Tideman.

Once at sea, the Nimitz encounters a mysterious, electrically-charged storm that eventually becomes a vortex.  While the ship passes through the mystery storm, its radar and other equipment become unresponsive, and the crew falls into agony.  After the event, Capt. Yelland and the crew are initially unsure of what has happened to them.  They also discover that they have lost radio contact with U.S. Pacific Fleet Command at Pearl Harbor.

Yelland wonders if there has been a nuclear strike on Hawaii, but soon Lasky and Commander, Air Group Richard T. Owens (James Farentino) begin to suspect that they been tossed back in time to December 6, 1941.  That is one day before “a day which will live in infamy,” December 7, 1941 – the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Now, comes the big questions.  By itself, the Nimitz has the aircraft power to destroy the Japanese fleet.  So should Yelland launch that air power and change history by stopping the attack on Pearl Harbor?

The Final Countdown is one of my all-time favorite films.  I have a soft spot for time-travel movies, especially such films as Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), and of course, The Terminator (1984) and its sequels.

In spite of my intense love for this film – yes, I said intense – I can see its flaws.  I think The Final Countdown's concept would work better as a television miniseries or even as an ongoing series.  Its relatively short runtime is not enough time for the film to really be indulgent in revealing its most important character, the U.S.S. Nimitz.  Director Don Taylor gives us several scenes of the planes, jets, fighter aircraft, etc., but every scene of the ship's interior makes it obvious that the film needs to take a deeper dive into the bowels of the Nimitz.  All that military hardware demands more screen time, or at least, I'm the one demanding more of it.

Most of all, the time travel angle of the story seems to come and go so fast, and the screenplay does not really grapple with what would happen if Captain Yelland and his crew inserted themselves into the attack on Pearl Harbor.  It glosses over that and over the many points of view that would result from the kind of command structure that a ship like the Nimitz has.

The wild card characters are Senator Samuel S. Chapman (Charles Durning) and his secretary, Laurel Scott (Katharine Ross).  Their appearance in the narrative is a considerable development and creates conflict and complications in the decisions that the captain and crew of the Nimitz will make.  Time constraints mean that the film doesn't really deal with these two characters.

I spotted so many cracks in this recent viewing of The Final Countdown, I still really love this film.  I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite movies stars, such as Kirk Douglas (Out of the Past), Martin Sheen, and Charles Durning (To Be or Not to Be) in roles that called upon their usual film personalities.  I don't think I remembered that Ron O'Neal (Super Fly, 1972) was in this film, but he gets his chance to emote and overact.  I have seen this film at least three times, and this was the first time that James Farentino;s presence also registered with me.

Yes, The Final Countdown seems to be missing at least another half-hour of story, but the first time I saw it, when I was a teenager, it blew my mind.  I saw it again years later, and I was surprised to find that I still loved it.  I just watched The Final Countdown again, and guess what?  I still love it, even adore it.  That's why I'm being generous with the grade I'm giving The Final Countdown.  I need a Blu-ray or DVD copy.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from February 1st to 8th, 2020 - Update #30

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Support Leroy on Patreon:

REVIEW - From Patreon:  My "Birds of Prey" review.

AWARDS - From Deadline:  The winners at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced.  "The Farewell" was named "Best Feature" of 2019.

----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:  Former talk show host, David Letterman, says that Quentin Tarantino once threatened to kill him.

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TELEVISION - From THR:  The recently completed seventh season of "Ray Donovan" is the last for the series.  Showtime has cancelled the crime drama, which stars Liev Schreiber.

----------
MOVIES - From IndieWire:  "The Matrix 4" begins filming.  This article has photos from the set, and Keanu's "Neo" seems different from the Neo of the original trilogy.

----------
DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney has signed a deal with Grammy-winning recording artist, Bruno Mars, in which Mars would produce and star in a music-driven film.

----------
TRAILER - From Variety:  The first trailer for the upcoming "Saw" reboot film, "Spiral," debuts.  The film, which stars Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, is due May 15, 2020.

----------
ANIMATION - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. Animation commits to its first major producer deal.  The signee is "Family Guy" writer-producer, Wellesley Wild.

----------
MOVIES - From Newsarama:  Actor Henry Golding has posted a photo from his upcoming film, "Snake Eyes" (G.I. Joe Origins), which is due Oct. 23rd.

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CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  Actress Shannen Doherty (Beverly Hills 90210," "Charmed") revealed that she has received a Stage 4 diagnosis after her breast cancer had been in remission.

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Tyler Perry has confirmed that he is reviving his former TBS TV series, "House of Payne" (2007-2012) for BET with the original cast.  Perry also has a greenlight from BET for a new series, "Tyler Perry's Assisted Living."

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  Director Antoine Fuqua and actor Chris Pratt, who worked together on the remake of "The Magnificent Seven," to develop a TV series, "The Terminal List."

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STREAMING - From Deadline:  Tyler Perry revealed that 26 million people watched the first weekend of his Netflix film, "A Fall from Grace."  Netflix later confirmed the numbers for the thriller which stars Crystal Fox and Mehcad Brooks.

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DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney's streaming service, Disney+, apparently has 26.5 million subscribers.

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DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney apparently paid $75 million for the global movie rights to the Tony Award-winning musical, "Hamilton."  The film is apparently due Fall 2021.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 1/31 to 2/2/2020 weekend box office is "Bad Boys for Life" with an estimated take of 17.7 million dollars.  This is the film's third straight weekend atop the box office.

From PasteMagazine:  The box office for the opening weekend of the thriller, "The Rhythm Section," is an estimated 2.8 million dollars.  That is the worst debut ever for a film that opens on 3,000 or more screens.

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TELEVISION - From YahooEntertainment:  The third season of Fox's "The Masked Singer" opens with a shocker.

----------
SUPER BOWL - From YahooSports:  The Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 to win Super Bowl LIV.  Patrick Mahomes named the MVP of the game.

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BRITISH ACADEMY - From Deadline:   "1917" won the "Best Film" award at the 2020 BAFTA Film Awards, one of the seven awards it won to lead the night, which included a "Best Director" for Sam Mendes.  Joaquin Phoenix won the "Best Actor" award, one of three awards for "Joker."

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AWARDS - From Deadline:  "Parasite" and "JoJo Rabbit" lead the 2020 / 72nd Writers Guild Awards.

From Deadline:  "Parasite," "Once Upon a Time... in America," and "Avengers: Endgame" top the  the Art Directors Guild's 2020 / 24th annual ADG Awards.

----------
SPORTS - From YahooSports:  Lamar Jackson, the quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, is the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP).  He is the second unanimous winner in NFL history, following Tom Brady's unanimous winner in 2010.

----------
DISNEY - From THR:  100 years ago, the late great Walt Disney got his first animation job.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar-winner Spike Lee will direct a film version of Oscar-winner David Byrne's "American Utopia" stage show.

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STREAMING - From Deadline:  Adam Sandler re-signs with Netflix for four more films.  In the first deal, Sandler starred in five films and in his first stand-up comedy special in 22 years.  He also produced two films for the streamer.

OBITS:

From THR:  An icon of Hollywood's "Golden Age" and giant of American cinema, Kirk Douglas, has died at the age of 103, Wednesday, February 5, 2020.  Douglas appeared in numerous great films:  "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954), "Paths of Glory" (1957), and "Spartacus" (1960), to name a few.  He received best actor Oscar nominations for "Champion" (1949), "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1951), and "Lust for Life" (1956).  Kirk Douglas was the father of Oscar-winning actor, Michael Douglas.

From THR:  The actor Robert Conrad has died at the age of 84, Saturday, February 8, 2020.  Conrad was best known for the numerous television series in which he starred.  His most beloved TV series may be "The Wild Wild West" (CBS, 1965-69), but others may prefer "Baa Baa Black Sheep" (NBC, 1976-78).

From THR:  The actor, Orson Bean, has died at the age of 91, Friday, February 7, 2020.  He made over 200 appearances on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson and appeared on many game shows from the 1960s to the 1980s.  He voiced "Bilbo Baggins" in the 1977 animated film version of "The Hobbit."  Many will remember Bean as the story owner, "Loren Bray," on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."

From Variety:  Television writer, director, and producer, Gene Reynolds, has died at the age of 96, Monday, February 3, 2020.  Reynolds co-created the "MASH" TV series (CBS, 1972-73) with Larry Gelbart, and he was one of the creators of the "Lou Grant" TV series (CBS, 1977-82).  He was a six-time Emmy Award winner.

From CNN:  American author and novelist, Mary Higgins Clark, has died at the age of 92, January 31, 2020.  Called the "Queen of Suspense," Clark wrote over 50 books and each was a bestseller.  Her 1977 novel, "A Stranger is Watching," was adapted into a 1982 film.  Her 1980 novel, "The Cradle Will Fall," was the first of many of her novels that were adapted for television.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 1st to 8th, 2016 - Update #28

Support Leroy on Patreon.

NEW YORK COMIC CON 2016:

From Newsarama:  Creator Robert Kirkman at "The Walking Dead" NYCC panel.

From BleedingCool:  Kate Beckinsale says that Marvel is doing something with "Blade."

From BleedingCool:  More from DC Comics' "Rebirth" NYCC panel.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  The Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, John Boyega thriller, "The Circle," has a release date, April 28, 2017.

----------
JAMES BOND - From Vulture:  Maybe Daniel Craig isn't ready to stop being Bond.

----------
CELEBRITY - From Guardian:  In a video, Robert DeNiro says that he'd like to punch Donald Trump in the face.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  "The Girl on the Train" will likely be the winner of this weekend's box office.

----------
COMICS-FILMS - From Variety:  Forest Whitaker joins Marvel's "Black Panther."

----------
MOVIES - From IndieWire:  How Mel Gibson helped Nate Parker on "Birth of a Nation."

----------
MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Amy Adams returning for "Disenchanted," the sequel to "Enchanted."

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  "Blade Runner 2049" is the name of the "Blade Runner" sequel.

----------
POLITICS - From TheDailyBeast: Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone says that the administration of President Obama is the worst for whistleblowers.

----------
MUSIC - RollingStone:  Bruce Springsteen talks about a number of subjects in this interview, including Black Lives Matter.

----------
MOVIES:  From WarofthePlanet:  The website for next year's "War for the Planet of the Apes."

----------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooSports:  Some people are complain the Marvel-Netflix's "Luke Cage" is too Black...

----------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooMovies:  The DVD release of "Suicide Squad" to contain a cut of the film with 13 extra minutes.

---------
MUSIC - From RollingStone:  The songwriter, Rod Temperton, died last week in London at the age of 66.  He may be most famous for his collaborations with Michael Jackson including naming Michael's record-setting LP, "Thriller" as well as penning the title track and two more songs for the album.

----------
MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Disney has set a release date for its live-action 3D remake of "Mulan," November 2, 2018.

----------
MOVIES - From SlashFilm:  The Oscar-winning film-scoring team of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross will score Peter Berg's film, "Patriots Day."

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Chloe Moretz will join Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton in a remake of Italian horror master, Dario Argento's "Suspiria."

----------
TELEVISION - From SlashFilm:  A teaser has been released for the upcoming "Twin Peaks" revival on Showtime next year.

----------
MOVIES - From YahooNews:  Finally, Nate Parker, director of the buzzy "Birth of a Nation," is saying what he should have said a long time ago about the "rape charges" he once faced.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 9/30 to 10/2/2016 weekend box office is "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" with an estimated take of $28.5 million.

----------
CELEBRITY - From TheWrap:  Kirk Douglas celebrates his 100th birthday early Saturday, October 1, 2016 at the 95th anniversary of the Motion Picture Television Fund.  Douglas' actually birthday is December 19th.  I have a feeling that he will live past 100.

---------
ECO - From TheGuardian:  Leonardo DiCaprio takes his new documentary film, "Before the Flood," to the White House to screen for President Barack Obama.

----------
CRIME - From YahooNews:  The 6-year-old boy who was shot at Townville Elementary in South Carolina on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 has died of his injuries.

----------
MOVIES - From YahooNews:  New image of Emma Watson and Dan Stevens from Disney's live-action "Beauty and the Beast."

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Lee Daniels, the Oscar-nominated director of "Precious," is making a movie musical about his life.

TEASER:

From YahooMovies:  First trailer for "Jackie" with Natalie Portman.

From Deadline:  First teaser for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" which lands in 2017.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for July 4th to 11th, 2015 - Update #11

Support Leroy on Patreon.

NEWS:

From Variety:  Avengers and Inside Out help push Disney over $3 billion in global box office gross.

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From BoxOfficeMojo:  It looks like "Jurassic World" will still be #1 at the box office for the July 4th 2015 weekend box office.


COMIC BOOKS - Films and Books:

From THR:  Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will unite in a comic book.

---------------
From CBR:  Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson are announced as artist for "Batman: The Dark Knight III: The Master Race."

---------------
From CBR:  Wesley Snipes says that he has met with more about playing "Blade" again.

---------------
From Variety:  Marisa Tomei will reportedly be the new Aunt May in the Spider-Man reboot.

---------------
From ThePlaylist:  "X-Men: Apocalypse" is the real first X-Men film, says Bryan Singer.

---------------
From EW:  More on the upcoming new X-Men film.


TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  New trailer for "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip."


OBITS:

From TheGuardian:  The actor, Omar Sharif, died at the age of 83 in Egypt on Friday, July 10, 2015.  Sharif is known for his roles in Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago.

---------------
From THR:  Movie producer Jerry Weintraub died today, Monday, July 6, 2015, at the age of 77.  He produced the original Ocean's 11 and The Karate Kid films and the remakes and sequels.  He received an Emmy Award for producing the TV bio-film, Behind the Candelabra, one of three he won.

---------------
From Deadline:  Michael Douglas's mother, Diana Douglas, died on Saturday, July 4th, 2015.  She was Kirk Douglas' first wife.  She was 92.


---------------
From TheWrap:  The actress Amanda Peterson was recently found dead in her Colorado home.  She was best known for her role in 80's classic, Can't Buy Me Love.

Review: "Out of the Past" is an Entertaining Film-Noir (Happy B'day, Kirk Douglas)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 44 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Out of the Past (1947) – Black & White
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
NR – not rated by the MPAA
DIRECTOR:  Jacques Tourneur
WRITERS:  Geoffrey Homes (based upon the novel Build My Gallows High by Geoffrey Homes)
PRODUCER:  Warren Duff
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Nicholas Musuraca
EDITOR:  Samuel E. Beetley
COMPOSER: Roy Webb

FILM-NOIR/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring:  Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Webb, Steve Brodie, Virginia Houston, Paul Valentine, Dickie Moore, and Ken Niles with (no screen credit) Theresa Harris, Caleb Peterson, and Wallace Scott

The subject of this movie review is Out of the Past, a 1947 film noir drama and thriller from director Jacques Tourneur.  The film is based on the 1946 novel, Build My Gallows High, by Geoffrey Homes (the penname of author Daniel Mainwaring), who also wrote the screenplay adapting his novel for this film.  Frank Fenton and James M. Cain also contributed to the writing of the screenplay, but did not receive screen credit.

Out of the Past stars Robert Mitchum as a private eye who escapes his past and runs a gas station in a small town.  Kirk Douglas and Jane Greer star as the hood and his dame (respectively), and they are the past that catches up to the former private eye.

Out of the Past is a definitive classic of film noir; some even consider it the best noir film ever.  It is certainly a film that stands the test of time because it is not only fondly remembered and on the National Film Registry, it was also remade as the 1984 film, Against All Odds.  Who can forget Phil Collins’ powerful theme song for the film?

Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is a gas station owner with a troubled past.  It catches up with him when a tough looking, film heavy named Joe Stephanos (Paul Valentine) comes looking for Jeff and tells him he needs to take a trip.  Stephanos and his employer are “acquaintances” of Jeff’s.  So Jeff’s trip is to pay a visit to that old friend, gambler and mobster, Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas).  It turns out Jeff was once a private eye named Jeff Markham (told in a flashback) whom Sterling hired to find his mistress, Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), a drop-dead gorgeous woman who’d shot Sterling several times and disappeared with 40,000 of Sterling’s dollars.  Bailey did find her, but the unexpected (or expected) occurs.  Now, Sterling wants payback, so he coerces Bailey into taking another job for him, one that might cost Jeff his neck or a trip to the gas chamber.

Out of the Past has all the things that marks a movie as film noir, especially the lighting, the dangerous dames, menacing thugs, snappy dialogue, and hard-living hero.  The film actually seems longer than its running time, and that’s good.  The director and screenwriters pack a lot of twists and turns into this film.  It’s beautifully shot, and the dialogue is not only snappy (which might take some getting used to for people not familiar with noir or movies from the 1930’s and 40’s), but it’s also quite witty, sharp, and biting.  The film is engaging and almost compels the viewer to keep watching.

They really don’t make movies like this anymore or movie stars like this.  Robert Mitchum is an electric and magnetic presence, so much so that he almost steals the film from his co-stars.  It’s obvious why every female character in the film wants to disrobe for his Jeff Bailey.  In fact, if it weren’t for Kirk Douglas’ own super-powered film presence, his Whit Sterling couldn’t register as a dangerous adversary for Mitchum’s Bailey.

With nearly ever scene revealing another twist or surprise, Out of the Past is an absolute delight and a must-see for fans of the cast and film noir.  It’s only shortcoming is that the script brushes aside too many characters, and while those characters’ motivations aren’t contrived, they’re turned into a kind of short hand or footnote, although if developed only a little more, they’d enhance the story.  In places, the film lacks meat on its bones and lacks the emotional resonance to fully sell the various relationship triangles.  That said, this is still very entertaining film-noir.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1991 National Film Preservation Board, USA:  National Film Registry

Updated:  Monday, December 09, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.