Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Final Countdown Blu-ray Movie Review

The countdown is over -- Blue Underground Blu-rays are here.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 6, 2008

I don't have any idea what's happened.

Featuring then-state-of-the-art military hardware, a time-travel paradox, some action, and a scope that spans some 40 years, it's no wonder that The Final Countdown is one of the ultimate "guy movies" of the past several decades. It's also one of the more under-the-radar pictures of that same time span. Many may recall seeing the film on cable television in the 1980s, but it wasn't until a little studio called Blue Underground released the film to much fanfare as an excellent 2-disc special edition DVD, with a cool lenticular cover to boot, back on March 30, 2004, that the film finally found a larger audience. The studio's effort in releasing this cult classic on DVD several years back, and now on Blu-ray disc, is a tribute to their dedication to providing fans exactly what they want, and if The Final Countdown is any indication, Blue Underground is poised to shoot to the top and become Blu-ray fans favorite little studio. Delivering what fans really want, including not one, but two 7.1 channel lossless soundtracks, fine picture quality, and a nice mixture of supplements, all at a competitive price, Blue Underground seems to have found the perfect formula right off the bat with this fine initial release.

The Nimitz sails toward history.

We also have to consider one alternative possibility -- the possibility that what's happening here is real.

The U.S.S. Nimitz, a Navy carrier and the peak of military technology, takes on civilian observer Warren Lasky (Martin Sheen, Wall Street) during exercises in the Pacific. At sea, the vessel encounters a mysterious storm, one that comes in and out of the visible spectrum and routinely appears and disappears from radar screens. As the carrier unwittingly approaches and travels through the portal, it suddenly finds itself atop calm seas and below clear blue skies. Captain Matthew Yelland (Kirk Douglas, Spartacus) and Commander Richard T. Owens (James Farentino, Dead & Buried), along with Lasky, try to figure out what has happened as a barrage of context clues come to their attention. The ship can transmit and receive, but nobody is answering; vintage Jack Benny broadcasts are picked up on the AM band, as are war reports on the progress of the fighting between German and Russian forces; a reconnaissance flight over Pearl harbor shows peculiar traffic, not to mention an intact U.S.S. Arizona; and two mint-condition, Mistubishi-manufactured Japanese Zeros are spotted patrolling the area. Ruling out the possibility of a full-scale nuclear war and a shadowy exercise implemented by Lasky and his colleagues, the ship's hierarchy eventually determines that the Nimitz has been transported back in time -- to December 6, 1941, in fact -- and must choose to intervene in the inevitable Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, or allow history as they know it to run its course.

I have a suspicion history will be a little more difficult to beat than you imagine.

The Final Countdown is captivating, exciting, and wondrous filmmaking that poses one of the ultimate "what if" scenarios of our time. With the rapid explosion of technological advancements, particularly in the arena of military might, what was once Science Fiction only years ago is today science fact, and the power at hand dwarfs that of only several years prior. Much like a modern off-the-shelf laptop computer offers technology light years more advanced than the bulky, room-filling computers that sent man to the moon, a single modern-day aircraft carrier wields the firepower to obliterate an entire invading force, in this case, the Japanese attack group that devastated Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The cast of The Final Countdown does an admirable job in conveying the sense of awe, the historical importance, and their place in what may be a completely re-written history as they know it. The film's lead actors -- Martin Sheen, Kirk Douglas, and James Farentino -- provide captivating performances as they ponder and postulate on the enormous responsibility they have not to just their country and their duty as Naval officers, but the responsibility they have to history, to preserving what was and what is to come, no matter how dastardly or heartbreaking, no matter how many lives their actions could save -- or their inactions, again, destroy.

One of the reasons that The Final Countdown seems to work as well as it does is its insistence on leaving what has happened, and particularly why it has happened, a mystery. Compare a typical episode of, say, "Star Trek: Voyager" with The Final Countdown. "Voyager" (or other "Trek" programs, particularly some stand-alone episodes) will involve some sort of anomaly, temporal or not, and spend a good chunk of the episode trying to explain it away. Rarely are viewers left simply in awe of the power and mystery of the odd occurrence. There is always a techno-babble explanation for the the strange happenings, explanations that satisfy the curiosity of the crew and the viewers, but never leave anything to the imagination. God bless "Star Trek;" it's a wonderful series, much of the aforementioned "Voyager" not withstanding, but it never strays from formula, always discovering the who, what, when, where, and why of every supernatural, astrological, or manmade phenomenon the crews encounter. In The Final Countdown, on the other hand, the mystery, the wonder, the excitement of the phenomenon is the running theme of the story. The "why" is never much discussed; the anomaly simply is, and the mystery that is pieced together throughout the movie deals with the "where" and "what" of the anomaly, but never answers the "why." Viewers are left to contemplate that latter possibility, to imagine that a temporal event could indeed overtake them, or that somewhere, somehow, someday, a vortex may very well open, swallowing an aircraft carrier, or perhaps, 40 years from now, something even more powerful, the likes of which man has only dreamt, and has yet to dream of the catastrophe that awaits from that development. As the movie, and other serious broken timeline films have postulated, would one even be aware that such a drastic alteration of history has occurred? In the blink of an eye, could a lifetime's worth of memories be erased and replaced? Time travel paradoxes make for fascinating movie magic, with The Final Countdown being among the best, because of its insistence on simply introducing an idea, leaving the possibilities to the imagination, and its reluctance to answer the most important question, "why."

The Final Countdown Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Final Countdown time travels onto Blu-ray, and at nearly 30 years old, it has never looked better. Framed at 2.35:1 and presented in 1080p, the film clearly benefits from the improved resolution of Blu-ray and the care and attention to detail the studio has provided to this much-anticipated release. The film retains a good amount of grain; some shots are substantially grainer than others, but this is, for the most part, a balanced and pleasing presentation with the film looking absolutely fabulous in places. Colors are natural, neither overly saturated and bright nor dull and lackluster. There are sometimes a multitude of colors to be seen, particularly on the Nimitz's flight deck. The uniforms worn by the flight deck crew, and the varied colors thereof, particularly reds, greens, and yellows, look marvelous. Detail ranges from average to exceptional; a few shots of the chopper that carries Warren Lasky to the Nimitz at the beginning of the film reveal every seam, bolt, and the general wear and tear on the machine's hull. A subsequent scene where Lasky is off the helicopter and first steps foot on the deck is remarkably sharp and clear, with wonderful detail all around -- the foreground, background, and everything in between, with no hint of softness. Likewise, once the action penetrates the interior of the vessel, detail, depth, and texture remain solid. The bulkheads inside the carrier, for example, and all of the antiquated equipment look rich and true, boring yet functional, with all the small details coming to life. The image displays an odd smudgy look across the bottom of the image in chapter 3 as Lasky first arrives in his quarters, and a few other scenes appear awfully smooth and soft, almost like a a smudge of vaseline was smeared over the image, but these are few and far between and never much of a distraction. With mostly clear imagery, a retention of plenty of inherent grain, natural flesh tones, and solid blacks, The Final Countdown looks about as good as it's ever going to.

The Final Countdown Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Final Countdown arrives on Blu-ray with two lossless soundtracks, a DTS-HD MA 7.1 mix as well as a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 offering. Both hover around the same bitrate, generally settling in a range from the lower 4's to mid 5's. For the purpose of the review, the film was screened utilizing the DTS mix; several comparisons between the lossless mixes after the fact revealed virtually no audible difference in the soundtracks. The soundtrack shows its age, but its presented well enough here. The film's oftentimes heroic score spreads evenly and naturally across the front. The film features some dynamic sound, such as that of an F-14 Tomcat's touchdown atop the deck of the carrier in chapter two. Jet fighters take off with a roar that slightly rumbles the gut and does a fairly good job of placing listeners directly atop the flight deck. The front channels carry the bulk of the load, but the rear channels do manage to come into play and offer sometimes subtle, sometimes moderate activity in support. Particularly engaging are the sequences as the temporal storm becomes more active, the sound completely immersing the carrier, and as a result, the listening area. The high pitched frequency heard as the ship travels through the portal is reminiscent of the pulse attack on the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk, but not quite as loud and precise, or even annoying. Some effects are only moderately intense. A series of Japanese Zero flybys in chapter 10 are somewhat engaging, the sound flowing nicely around the soundstage, though not overly aggressive, loud, or intense. Likewise, gunfire from the plane's machine guns is strong but fails to offer the gut-pounding punch that one might expect from weapons of that sort. Dialogue is rendered accurately through the center channel from start to end. The Final Countdown offers a soundtrack that meets expectations, one that sounds fine but neither wows nor disappoints listeners.

The Final Countdown Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Final Countdown touches down on Blu-ray with several solid special features. First is a feature-length commentary track with Director of Photography Victor J. Kemper and Blue Underground representative David Gregory. The track is about as straightforward as they come; concise, dealing in generalities and neither too dull nor overly exciting. Kemper feeds off Gregory's questions and observations and chimes in with his own thoughts, discusses shooting locations, techniques, the actors, and more. Those interested in cinematography will find it interesting, though general audiences may find it more monotonous than many other tracks available. Lloyd Kaufman Goes Hollywood (480p, 14:01) is an interview with Troma Co-President Lloyd Kaufman. He discusses his work with Troma and his venture into producing films to fund the studio, and particularly his involvement with The Final Countdown. He recounts the assemblage of the cast and crew, difficulties in the shoot and the firing of the crew, the personal issues and conflicts that plagued the set, and more. Starring the Jolly Rogers (480p, 31:14) is easily the best feature on the disc. The aviators who piloted the aircraft in the film recount their experiences on the set. Military buffs will love this feature as these men discuss the logistics of life aboard a carrier, the difficulties pilots face, the history of the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and, of course, their experiences of working on a major motion picture. Concluding the supplemental features are two trailers, a teaser, and a pair of television spots, all presented in 480p standard definition.

The Final Countdown Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Final Countdown has become something of a cult classic, a film enjoying a rebirth of sorts thanks to the efforts of Blue Underground. With a fascinating story, excellent acting, and its brilliant handling of the moral quandaries that would undoubtedly challenge Naval or other military personnel faced with the daunting task of almost effortlessly changing the course of world history, The Final Countdown combines action, adventure, and Sci-Fi elements with a deep philosophical and moral discussion that never becomes too burdensome or too pronounced, always punctuated by moments of intense action and spectacular imagery. Blue Underground's first Blu-ray release is, hopefully, a harbinger of good things to come from the studio. Featuring an excellent video transfer that offers what is probably about the best the film is capable of looking, a fine lossless soundtrack offered in two flavors, and a few good supplements, The Final Countdown is a disc well worth owning. Recommended.