Intelligent science fiction films have a tendency to be few and far between - which is why it's refreshing to watch this thought-provoking time-slip drama which sees a naval warship from the '80s transported back in time to the day before the attack on Pearl Harbour! The film's conception was clearly inspired by one of my favourite movies - the Japanese classic G.I. SAMURAI, with Sonny Chiba and his troops transported back to samurai times. I was looking forward to see what this US-centric twist would add to the story, and I wasn't disappointed.
For a start, this isn't an action film. Aside from plenty of scenes of planes flying around and landing on the ship (via some cool elastic technology), this shows no battle scenes, so if you're looking for that kind of excitement I'd recommend going elsewhere. The crux of the film is the captain's moral dilemma as he has to choose whether to become involved in WW2 or not. Any action he takes is likely to have drastic consequences - leading to a nail-biting climax that poses the question "what if?". For some, this might be anticlimatic, and if you're looking for a pure modern-vs-historical war movie I'd go with G.I. SAMURAI instead.
The cast is pretty good, a mix of star names and character actors. Douglas is one of those old-time guys who seems great in any part, and I couldn't fault him here. Martin Sheen has something of an extraneous role, given that he doesn't actually do anything other than act as the audience's eyes and ears. James Farentino and Katharine Ross supply a low-key love affair and Charles Durning has fun as a ranting politician. I also enjoyed Soon-Tek Oh who appeared briefly as a menacing Japanese pilot - the stand-off involving his character is the film's best scene. Sure, this isn't the most exciting film in the world, and in terms of spectacle the special effects have dated somewhat. But I found it original and unpredictable, a fine addition to the spate of time-travel-paradox movies that never panders to the booms-n-bangs crowd.
For a start, this isn't an action film. Aside from plenty of scenes of planes flying around and landing on the ship (via some cool elastic technology), this shows no battle scenes, so if you're looking for that kind of excitement I'd recommend going elsewhere. The crux of the film is the captain's moral dilemma as he has to choose whether to become involved in WW2 or not. Any action he takes is likely to have drastic consequences - leading to a nail-biting climax that poses the question "what if?". For some, this might be anticlimatic, and if you're looking for a pure modern-vs-historical war movie I'd go with G.I. SAMURAI instead.
The cast is pretty good, a mix of star names and character actors. Douglas is one of those old-time guys who seems great in any part, and I couldn't fault him here. Martin Sheen has something of an extraneous role, given that he doesn't actually do anything other than act as the audience's eyes and ears. James Farentino and Katharine Ross supply a low-key love affair and Charles Durning has fun as a ranting politician. I also enjoyed Soon-Tek Oh who appeared briefly as a menacing Japanese pilot - the stand-off involving his character is the film's best scene. Sure, this isn't the most exciting film in the world, and in terms of spectacle the special effects have dated somewhat. But I found it original and unpredictable, a fine addition to the spate of time-travel-paradox movies that never panders to the booms-n-bangs crowd.