The Philadelphia Experiment

Though it pre-dates both, this feels like an odd meld of BACK TO THE FUTURE and THE TERMINATOR which doesn’t quite come off (and is easily eclipsed by both); the major problem being that the wrong elements of the premise are explored or rather not properly exploited – the notion of a fish-out-of-water romance between Pare and Allen is not the worst idea in the world, but outside of an unfamiliarity with the superficial trappings (Coke cans etc), not a great deal is done with the potential for these characters to interact; similarly the government agency B-plot plods along without finding anything fresh or new to do. Has its moments, and even shows flashes of promise, but rightly buried beneath the pile of more substantive sci-fi efforts from the 80s.