The final countdown.

[jadenova]

youtu.be/NNiTxUEnmKI


Well if Chuck's not gonna play it... I WILL

Glad to see I'm not the only one thinking of this.

[SpacePaladin]

If I was going to go back in time and kill Hitler, I'd do it during WWI. There might be moral issues in killing a baby, but killing a soldier in the midst of war isn't going to raise too many questions.

[Mabus]

Never saw the film before, only read its synopsis some years ago, I think it was on TVTropes.
But yeah, apart from showing off the USN toys, the film doesn't have much plot or a solid story.
It does feel like a high budgeted The Twilight Zone episode.

[CrypticMirror]

If I was going to go back in time and kill Hitler, I'd do it during WWI. There might be moral issues in killing a baby, but killing a soldier in the midst of war isn't going to raise too many questions.

Nah, Vienna in February 1913. You could bag Hitler, Stalin, Tito, and Trotsky in a single murder spree.

[phantom000]

The part where the actual pilots were discussing whether they would intervene, to me at least, was the most thought provoking.

They said that they took an oath to defend the US no matter where they were. I can understand that but you could argue that they vowed to protect the US of 1980, not 1941. The country they knew won't exist for another 39 years and might not exist at all if they interfere with events. You could make a case that to interfere is the ultimate violation since it means the country you pledged to protect would be erased.

Admittedly it is splitting hairs pretty thin but it is an argument I could understand because I can see the reasoning behind it.

[PerrySimm]

A classic case of "We can't tell this story on this budget". At least, not after showing Real F-14s doing Real F-14 Stuff.

Then again, just look at Zipang - an anime with essentially the same concept. You can draw whatever you want in an anime, so you're free to depict the explody part to your heart's content. But you still need a story worth telling, and despite taking its sweet time, it *also* peters out into an unsatisfying non-ending.

[Cheerilee]

It's probably safe to say that the visuals from this film (released in 1980) were a significant influence on Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982). With the Macross itself basically being an aircraft carrier (that transforms into a giant robot), and the Valkyrie fighters (also transforming into giant robots) being based on the cool new sweep-wing F-14 Tomcats shown in this movie, with the top Valkyrie pilot flying a Jolly Roger design.

[Taurian Patriot]

Then again, just look at Zipang - an anime with essentially the same concept. You can draw whatever you want in an anime, so you're free to depict the explody part to your heart's content. But you still need a story worth telling, and despite taking its sweet time, it *also* peters out into an unsatisfying non-ending.

The original comic might be worth reading, in that case. I haven't gotten around to it myself, but I know the show only covered roughly the first half of the overall plot.

Even so, at least the first several episodes may be worth seeing because they add a wrinkle that this movie doesn't go into very deeply - the Japanese SDF sailors are fully aware that Imperial Japan was not the hero of WWII, and the idea of using their advanced firepower to single-handedly win the war is jettisoned pretty much immediately. Of course, many of them want to spare their nation the nuclear conclusion, but not with a unilateral victory and subjugation of Asia that would only guarantee another war down the road. The two major sides of the debate generally come down to those who want to leave history alone, and those who want to ensure a peaceful, prosperous Japan without having to go through decades of occupation first. Straight-up wiping out the American fleet is never seriously considered an option.

On a side note, the movie's failure to follow through on the implications of exciting action reminds me of The Starfighters, featured on MST3K. The movie spent much of its running length hyping up these planes with their practice bombing runs and razor-sharp wings, and the big climax involves pilots being transferred to a European base but forced by a storm to find alternate landing sites, which all happens off-screen. Compelling stuff.

[griffeytrek]

As a fun and interesting aside. Fighter Pilot Youtuber C.W. Lemoine just last week posted an interview he did with "Shoes" about this movie. Shoes was the Navy Pilot of the 203 Tomcat in the movie.
https://youtu.be/aMarzSNO5RI

[Kinky Vorlon]

A classic case of "We can't tell this story on this budget". At least, not after showing Real F-14s doing Real F-14 Stuff.

Thing is, there's such a huge technology gap between a Zero and a F-14 that it would be over in seconds. The F-14s had Phoenix missiles that could lock onto a target 100 miles away. It would be a cakewalk. It would be "target locked and firing" over and over. A couple A-7s would take out the entire Japanese carrier group.

I think a longer lived medium (Show, anime, manga, etc) with this concept could kinda be interesting where the Nimitz was stuck back in time and create an alternate timeline. Sure they're super advanced, but what happens to that advantage when they run out of spare parts? I'm a history/aviation buff but not an expert, but, would the 1940s fuel even work in an F-14?