A couple of years before Top Gun put us in the pilot seat of the F-14 Tomcat, The Final Countdown had the full cooperation of the U.S. Navy and delivered some stunning aerial photography in this classic time travel film.

Boasting performances by Martin Sheen, Kirk Douglas, James Farentino, Katharine Ross and Charles Durning, I always enjoyed this film, but also felt that it was a little slow. I hadn’t watched it in decades so I was curious to see what I would get from it this time.

Not only is the film fairly slowly paced, it takes its time exploring its mystery, but the big thing I discovered this time around is that the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz which somehow, fantastically, finds itself transported back to 1941, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are just like the audience, they’re only observers.

Outside of a couple of instances where they directly interfere with the timeline, they simply sit back and watch events unfold, and when they decide to take a more proactive action, the strange temporal storm comes along in the nick of time and sweeps them back to the present.

That really annoyed me this time around. The storm comes out of nowhere both times, but to show up just as the carrier’s captain, Yelland (Douglas) decides to take action feels like a bit of a cheat. I get that they can’t actually change the timeline, but a few changes to the story could have made Yelland, his CAG and historian, Owens (Farentino) and the visiting efficiency expert, Lasky (Sheen) more proactive in their own adventure.

But let me tell you how much the aerial photography makes up for… a lot! You get to see lots of carrier activity, lots of cockpit and wing shots from the Tomcats, and some great flying shots. There’s some less than impressive model work and some solid special effects from Maurice Binder, and a solid score by John Scott.

Sheen is a lot of fun as is Douglas, and Farentino has always been an actor who has interested me. He’s one of those performers you feel can play any type of role, and he settles into Owens very comfortably. But the location, shooting on a carrier, and getting access the production did really let this film shine.

It also makes you wish for a little more from the time travel aspect of the story. I remember reading the adaptation of this book, and the photo inserts from the film. I don’t recall if I got it from the library, or from my grandfather’s massive stacks of paperbacks, but I remember enjoying it and being fascinated by the idea of time travel. Outside of Star Trek, this was one of my first introductions to the concept, and I think that’s why there will always be a spot in my heart for this one.