The Final Countdown (1980)

Again Time Travel, and again the Time Travel Paradox. The film (unrelated to the well-known pop song) tells the story of the USS Nimitz, a modern aircraft carrier that - during a heavy thunderstorm - passes through a time warp and ends up near Pearl Harbor, on the eve of the Japanese attack. Should Captain Kirk Douglas and his crew take action, prevent the destruction of Pearl Harbor and change history?

The Final Countdown was produced on a limited budget; as a result the special effects are awful, but the US Navy (who reportedly liked the premise) gave permission to shoot scenes on the actual aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. We get several spectacular scenes of planes landing on the aircraft deck and crew members serve as extra's, which adds to the feeling of authenticity. 

But what about the story? Well, Captain Kirk and his staff have elaborate discussions about the situation. Is it real? Is it possible to intervene? As one of the characters puts it:

"If I go back in time to kill my grandfather, how could I ever be born, and if I was never born, how could I ever go back in time?"

In order words: if we alter history, what would happen to us? Or to our relatives, friends and allies? The attack on Pearl Harbor gave US President Roosevelt an excuse to enter the Second World War, and provided him with a perfect argument to convince isolationists. How would WWII have progressed without US involvement? How would post-war Western European countries have looked like? Would they have suffered a Nazi dictatorship? Become Soviet satellite stated maybe? As said, these problems are never discussed, only vaguely hinted at by the introduction of the fictional character of a US senator (played by Charles Durning) who shares Roosevelt's views and wants the USS Nimitz to intercept the Japanese fleet.

The direction is workmanlike and with its lackluster special effects the film may look like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone, but thanks to some clever plotting and some good performances it's remarkably enjoyable ... until the finale, or better: the lack of it. Movies about the time travel paradox often have a sort of cop out ending, and this one's no exception: after careful consideration Captain Kirk takes a decision and we seem to be heading for a spectacular showdown, but no, all of sudden he has second thoughts and withdraws his decision. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

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The Final Countdown (1980, Don Taylor) - Cast: Kirk Douglas (Capt. Yelland), Martin Sheen (Lasky), Katherine Ross (Laurel Scott), James Farentino (Wing Commander Owens), Charles Durning (Senator Chapman), Sonn Tek-Oh (Simura), Alvin Ing (Lt. Kajima)

5 Days to Midnight (2004)

Originally a mini-series, made for cable, shown in five parts, with a total running time of 210 minutes approx (*1). Timothy Hutton plays a physics professor who receives a message from the future that he will be shot within four days. Can he save his life without creating a time travel paradox that would rip the universe apart? Who wants to kill him and why? And what’s more: Who sent him this message?

Most critics thought 5 Days to Midnight was well acted (notably by Hutton and 10-year old Gage Golightly - looking like a young Drew Barrymore - who plays his daughter), but also thought it was way overlong and anti-climactic. It was re-edited and released on DVD, in two parts of 90 minutes, reducing the total running time by half an hour. It still looks a little overlong, and it takes a bit too much time to get going, but once it does, there are enough ideas, questions, twists and turns to keep you hooked. The ending is indeed a little anti-climactic, but the answer to the question who actually sent the message is quite intriguing.

I bought the DVD for less than 2 euros (3 DVDs for 5 euros). They were well-spent

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5 Days to Midnight (2004) - Cast: Timothy Hutton (Professor J.T. Neumeyer), Randy Quaid (Irwin Sikorski), Kari Matchett (Claudia Whitney), Hamish Linklater (Carl Axelrod), Angus Macfadyen (Roy Bremmer), Gage Golightly (Jesse Neumeyer)

Note: 

* (1) Some sources mention a running-time of 255 minutes, but this is most probably the running-time of the original showings on Cable TV, including recaps (at the start of every new episode) and commercial breaks.