The Final Countdown
The Final Countdown mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Lasky heads toward the conning tower, an A-7 Corsair is shown at left (and the helicopter nose has a number "3" on it). As he is led inside the tower, the camera pans up, and now the Corsair is gone, replaced by an E-2 Hawkeye (and the number "3" on the heli is gone, too). (00:06:45)

johnrosa

The Final Countdown mistake picture

Continuity mistake: A helicopter ferries Lasky to the Nimitz, but as it takes off, it is marked as unit 9010, but in flight after passing the Arizona Memorial, it is unit 9717. (00:03:30 - 00:04:30)

johnrosa

The Final Countdown mistake picture

Continuity mistake: There are two F-14s that deal with the yacht and the two Zeros. They are respectively numbered 202 and 203 prominently on both sides of their forward fuselages. But when one fires a missile to down the second Zero, suddenly it is number 200, a jet that hasn't been launched. (00:50:25)

johnrosa

The Final Countdown mistake picture

Revealing mistake: When the Zeros destroy the yacht, mooring lines can be seen holding the boat in place as it explodes. Obviously, it isn't actually at sea, but is very near shore. (00:45:35)

johnrosa

The Final Countdown mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As the helicopter lands on the USS Nimitz, there is no number on the nose. But as Lasky disembarks, the number "3" appears. (00:06:25)

johnrosa

The Final Countdown mistake picture

Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the movie, Cmdr Owens lands an F-14, number 200. Immediately after landing while the plane is raising its tail hook, we see the number 203 on the right wing flap, then after a short cutaway, we see the plane again taxi to the right but now the right wing flap's number is back to 200. (00:08:35)

jimba

The Final Countdown mistake picture

Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, as Lasky prepares to board the helicopter, a blue GM station wagon is seen in the background, parked in front of a yellow Pinto. Watch carefully, as the car is partially hidden by the limo. By the last shot, the station wagon turns into a Ford sedan. (00:02:20 - 00:03:25)

Factual error: Listening to a radio broadcast, live, since no other indication is given, Joe Louis is completing the 12th round of a fight. This is December 6, 1941. Joe's last fight of 1941 occurred in September, his next fight was January 1942. (00:00:10)

More mistakes in The Final Countdown

Captain Yelland: If the United States falls under attack our job is to defend her in the past, present and future.
Lasky: And after that?
Captain Yelland: After that, we take our orders from the Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces.
Lasky: Franklin Delano Roosevelt?

More quotes from The Final Countdown

Trivia: The USS Nimitz was based in the Atlantic during filming of this movie. When the ship pulls into Pearl Harbor past the USS Arizona Memorial, it is actually the USS Kitty Hawk not the Nimitz.

Grumpy Scot

More trivia for The Final Countdown

Question: Wasn't President Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" speech as heard in the movie given before Congress on January 6, 1941? The movie, or some of it, takes place December 6th/7th 1941.

Answer: FDR's Four Freedoms speech (which was his eighth State of the Union address) was originally given on January 6, 1941, some months before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The filmmakers appear to have deliberately compressed the two historical events to emphasize the dramatic change in the world. FDR gave the speech to gain public support for the U.S. aiding Britain and the other allied forces, even though it was not yet involved in the war.

raywest

More questions & answers from The Final Countdown

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.