Time Under Fire

Plot

Commander Alan Deakins' submarine accidentally enters a portal in the Bermuda Triangle and disappears. Deakins resurfaces months later claiming to have traveled to the future. A Paranormal Research organization headed by Lance McCarty (Jack Coleman) bankrolls an expedition to recreate the circumstances of the accident in order to discover the truth. A state department official, Charles Braddock (Bryan Cranston) authorizes Deakins' breakout from a mental institution in order to participate in the expedition. Before leaving, Deakins visits his heartbroken wife, Jeannie (Kimberly Stevens) who, overjoyed to rediscover he is alive, tries to convince him not to leave.

The expedition, including Deakins, McCarty, McCarty's assistant Marjorie (Linda Hoffman), and military men Schmidt (Jay Acovone), Cole (Larry Poindexter), and Hawks (Richard Cummings), leaves the next morning. The submarine successfully enters the portal, and after crossing is attacked and boarded by a military vessel. The leader of the force, Koda (Richard Tyson) claims to recognize Deakins, and captures the crew. In lockup, Deakins meets a man, Spitz (Chick Vennera) who tells them that they are in a post-apocalyptic year 2077, in which the U.S. is ruled by a dictatorship led by Charles Braddock. Deakins' son, John (also played by Fahey), is the leader of the rebellion. A guard kills Schmidt for talking back and sexually assaults Marjorie. Deakins kills him after finding out.

Spitz breaks Deakins, Marjorie, and Hawks out of prison. They travel to the rebels' base and meet Alan's son John. John explains that Braddock is attempting to create an army of cyborgs who can alter their appearance to look like humans. John enlists their assistance in an assault on Braddock's base to recover the computer chip which is key to the cyborgs' creation. Braddock orders the elder Deakins killed in order to alter the timeline so that John would never be born.

They infiltrate the base, recover the chip, and rescue Lance. John and Cole are believed to have been killed in the escape. However, John reappears to rescue them and they board a submarine in order to cross back into the past. They are pursued by Koda, but destroy his submarine and escape back into the year 1997. Soon, Spitz notices odd behavior by John, and discovers that he is actually a cyborg clone, who is then destroyed by Alan.

Deakins returns home to Jeannie, who is pregnant (presumably, with John). Hawks is revealed to be a traitor, and meets covertly with Braddock to give him the cyborg chip. Braddock then orders Hawks to kill Deakins to prevent the future rebellion. Lance attempts to assassinate Braddock in his office, but after shooting him, discovers that he is a cyborg clone. The real Braddock emerges with a gun to Lance's head. After a brief struggle, Lance finally kills Braddock. Hawks invades Deakins' home, and in the ensuing fight, Jeannie and Hawks are killed.

With Braddock's death, the heroes are assumed to have prevented the impending apocalypse. In an interrogation room, Spitz explains everything to skeptical government officials. However, after Spitz confirms Jeannie's death (thus John's nonexistence), they murder Spitz. The film reveals that the officials are actually working for a surviving cyborg clone of Charles Braddock.

Cast

Critical reception

The film currently holds a 33% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 3.4 rating on IMDB.