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''The Final Countdown'' is a 1980 alternate history science fiction film about a modern aircraft carrier that travels through time to a day before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Produced by Peter Vincent Douglas and directed by Don Taylor, the film stars Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Katharine Ross and Charles Durning. This was Taylor's final film. Produced with the full cooperation of the United States Navy and filmed on board the supercarrier, ''The Final Countdown'' was a moderate success at the box office. In the years that followed, the film has developed a cult following among science fiction and military aviation fans.〔Muir, John Kenneth. ("Cult movie review: ''The Final Countdown'' (1980)". ) ''John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Film/TV'', August 28, 2008. Retrieved: May 18, 2012.〕 ==Plot== In 1980, the USS ''Nimitz'' takes on a civilian observer, systems analyst Warren Lasky (Martin Sheen), on the orders of his reclusive and mysterious employer, Mr. Tideman (who helped design much of the ship), just before it departs Pearl Harbor for a training mission in the Pacific Ocean. Out in the Pacific, the ship encounters a strange storm-like vortex which disappears after the ship passes through it. Initially unsure of what has happened, and having lost radio contact with Pacific Fleet Command, Captain Matthew Yelland (Kirk Douglas) orders General Quarters and the launch of reconnaissance aircraft which discover the intact U.S. Pacific battleship fleet at Pearl Harbor. When a surface contact is spotted on the radar, Captain Yelland launches the ready alert, two Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter jets, to intercept the contact. The contact, a 1940s civilian yacht, with a crew of five people, among them Senator Samuel Chapman (Charles Durning), are surprised when the fighter jets pass by as they have never seen any aircraft of this kind before, and are awed by their speed. The patrol eventually witness the civilian yacht being attacked and destroyed by two Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, killing three of the crew members. The F-14 fighter aircraft are ordered to "draw them off". The Zeros shoot at the F-14s, but due to their incredible speed, the Zeros miss and inadvertently head toward the ''Nimitz'', forcing the captain to order them shot down. The ''Nimitz'' rescues the yacht's remaining survivors: Chapman, his secretary Laurel Scott (Katharine Ross) and her dog, Charlie, as well as one of the Zero pilots. The ''Nimitz'''s CAG (Commander, Air Group), Commander Owens (James Farentino), an amateur historian, recognizes Samuel Chapman as a prominent United States senator who could have been Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate (and his potential successor) during his final re-election bid except for the fact that he disappeared shortly before the fateful attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After a Grumman E-2 Hawkeye discovers the Japanese fleet poised to attack Pearl Harbor, they eventually realize that they have been transported back in time to December 6, one day before the infamous attack. Captain Yelland has to decide whether to destroy the Japanese fleet and alter the course of history, or to stand by and allow history to proceed as "normal". After some intense debates on board, the Captain settles the dispute by "going by the book"; to defend America "past, present, and future" if attacked, and otherwise, to obey the orders of the then-current commander-in-chief, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The civilians and the Zero pilot are kept isolated, but while being questioned, the Japanese pilot grabs a weapon, kills his guards and holds the other survivors, the CAG, and Lasky as hostages, threatening to kill them unless he is given access to a radio so he can warn his commanding officers about the ''Nimitz'' which is far more powerful than anything in the Japanese fleet. When Captain Yelland and the crew "agree" with the Zero pilot's demand, he gets suspicious and when he orders the hostages to walk from the interrogation room to Yelland's import cabin, he suddenly grabs Laurel at gunpoint, threatening to kill her first if they attempt to trick him. The crisis is defused only after the CAG reveals enough of what he knows of history to distract the pilot long enough for Marines to kill him, but this also reveals the truth to the yacht survivors. The senator demands and is granted access to a radio to warn Pearl Harbor about the imminent attack, but since he identifies himself as aboard the USS ''Nimitz'' and before getting the chance to warn Pearl Harbor about this, the radio operator assumes it is a hoax — as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was then on active duty in the U.S. Navy — and the senator's location and name are not believed, as the radio operator tells him, "Look asshole, stop impersonating some other asshole and get off the air!" Meanwhile, Laurel and Commander Owens become attracted to each other. The senator demands for them to be taken to Pearl Harbor, but Captain Yelland sends the civilians with sufficient supplies via helicopter to an isolated Hawaiian island. The CAG goes with them. Once there, however, the senator tries to hijack the helicopter with a flare gun, but ends up destroying the helicopter and losing his life, while stranding the CAG and Laurel on the island. The ''Nimitz'' launches a massive strike force against the incoming Japanese forces, but before they can reach the enemy armada, the time storm returns. After a futile attempt to outrun the storm, Yelland recalls the strike force, and the ship and the aircraft return to 1980 safely. Upon the ''Nimitz'''s return to Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet commander boards the ship to investigate. Meanwhile, Lasky and Laurel's dog Charlie, upon leaving the ship, finally encounter "Mr. Tideman" face-to-face, who is revealed to be a much older Commander Owens, along with his wife, Laurel. The final encounter ends with Owens inviting Lasky for a ride in his limousine with the words: "We have a lot to talk about." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Final Countdown (film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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