Philadelphia Experiment
A fine example of 80s sci-fi cheese, the true fascination about this film is the story behind it: Conspiracy theorists far and wide have claimed that an actual experiment of this nature was conducted in 1943 where the U.S. Navy attempted to have a battleship be rendered invisible so as to sneak up on enemies, only to have the ship briefly teleport to Norfolk, Virginia, and then to reappear with several sailors badly burned and / or dying. Whether or not that’s true is open to speculation, but the film, which takes one of the more wacked out theories, that the ship and its crew actually traveled through time and wound up in the future, forms the basis of this story, as two of the sailors actually wind up in 1984, unaware that the war is over and we’ve long since won, trying to get their bearings while the wormhole caused by the experiment threatens the fate of the planet. As the soldiers, we get Michael Pare (fresh off his star-making turn in Eddie And The Cruisers) and Bobby DiCicco (one of the least tolerable actors of the decade). Pare does his usual moody rebel act from Cruisers, and while he did have charisma and presence, his acting skills still leave something to be desired, though his character is so thinly written that he’s able to spend most of the time on cruise control; As the modern-day woman who befriends and helps him, Nancy Allen is the patron saint of the picture (as she usually was in her prime), inexplicably helping a person in need despite having her own problems because it’s the right thing to do. In short, she’s a comforting angel, and few actresses before or since have done it better than her; As the scientist from the 40s who’s now an old man, Eric Christmas (Principal From Porky’s) brings some much-needed psychological weight to the film. Director Stewart Raffill (under the guidance of Executive Producer John Carpenter) does succeed in bringing a number of “can’t miss” moments to the film, as when Pare encounters DiCicco as an old man, and the climax, as implausible as it seems right down to the requisite happy ending, which serves as an example of the large number of plot holes contained within the narrative. The special FX, while good for its time, today would probably barely pass muster for a SyFy Original Movie Of The Week, but they’re not laughably bad as to turn the viewer off. There are a number of clever little tweeks in the script (including the usual “Why is an actor like Ronald Reagan now the President?” moment), and there’s quite a bit of heart to the effort despite its b-movie roots. Overall, a fascinating urban legend brought to life in a pretty good sci-fi effort…
7/10