“You know, I got it all figured out… Navy owes me 40 years back pay”
I was very happy when the boss gave me this one to review. I watched a bit of the trailer and within 10 minutes realised I had seen and loved this a long time ago. It was a childhood favourite of said boss and I wanted to do it justice.
I’ll begin with reminding everyone 1984 was a very paranoid time and most sci fi films reflected this throughout the 70s, 80s and to up until the mid 90s. These films tried to exploit, in an entertaining way, these paranoid times and some real gems came out of it. The Philadelphia Experiment is one of those albeit based on a ‘true story’…. When you know the plot you understand that this is quite amusing. But, I emphasis but, this is a film and I’m from the corner that likes to immerse myself into the film so true stories or not have will have no bearing.
Oh and the executive producer was John Carpenter so WHO CARES watch it!!!
Seeing this was pure nostalgia for me. I read a little about it afterwards… Afterwards I said!
I do find it amusing how some critics/fans/film goers pick apart these films without actually seeing them for what they are. Some of these write ups were comparing this 1984 film with modern day blockbusters. It was the 1980s, the budget wasn’t spent on the actors, the script, the cinematography, the continuity or even the authenticity. These films were all about the idea, the premise; you can’t understand this unless you immerse yourself into it regardless of the plot holes or ridiculous events that occur.
The Philadelphia Experiment is a great example of this. It’s a dystopian (kind of), time travelling, end of the world ‘yarn’ that brings back memories from ‘Back to the Future’ to ‘Night of the Comet’ and everything Inbetween. Those infamous lines… “Where are we?”, “are we dead?”, “did we win the war?” And the age old classic “WHAT YEAR IS THIS?” I love it! If you like these kinds of films. The silly great idea, the one as a kid you imagined yourself being in, then please watch it. This will take you back to good ‘ol 80s days I can promise you.
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