It's a pleasant but fairly standard movie about a subject that's anything but.
60
Time Out
Time Out
A time-travel yarn of the past arrives in the present persuasion. The 'what the hell's happened?' passages are, as usual, more diverting than the 'what the hell can we do about it?' scenes, the latter involving merely flashing lights, showers of sparks and talk of imploding vortexes.
The philadelphia Experiment had a lot of script problems in its development that haven't been solved yet, but final result is an adequate sci-fi yarn.
50
TV Guide Magazine
TV Guide Magazine
Fascinating but thoroughly unbelievable.
50
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
The Philadelphia Experiment offers the basis of a good sci-fi thriller, but it's top heavy and never makes it off the ground. If the movie had dealt more with reality and real human reactions to bizarre situations, it would have offered a good screen scare. [28 Aug 1984]
40
Washington PostGary Arnold
Washington PostGary Arnold
In the hands of a less amateurish director, The Philadelphia Experiment, now at area theaters, might have emerged as an ingratiating sleeper. [09 Aug 1984, p.D6]
25
Miami HeraldBill Cosford
Miami HeraldBill Cosford
It was pretty interesting a couple of years ago, too, when a variation of it was the premise for The Final Countdown. The big difference is that the earler film wasn't bad, and this one is. [03 Aug 1984, p.C9]