As the film opens we see two men turning for duty at a US missile silo; shortly afterwards the order comes through telling them to launch their missiles at the Soviet Union... one of them refuses to turn his key. It was just a drill to test how many of the operatives would actually go through with such an order. As a significant number refused it is decided that the men should be replaced by a computerised system... nothing can go wrong with that!
We then cut to a school in Seattle where students David Lightman and Jennifer Mack have just failed a history exam; David doesn't see the problem though; he just connects to the school computer and changes their grades. Having established his computer prowess we see him trying to hack into a games software company's system; he thinks he has found the site but he has unwittingly found the computer that runs war simulations for the US Air Force. Once in he decides to play a game of 'Global Thermonuclear War' not realising that the computer will act as if a real attack was underway. Not surprisingly he is arrested and is taken to NORAD headquarters where he learns that the program is still running; if all out nuclear war is to be averted he will have to escape and, along with Jennifer, find the computer's creator before time runs out.
When I first watched this as a teen in the 1980s it was fairly exciting and seemed very modern with the way he had a computer at home and could connect to others over the telephone... now that aspect of the film seems very dated. The story itself is enjoyable though largely because Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy are likable leads as David and Jennifer. It is clear that this was aimed at a teen audience as we see the adults behave as idiots while the problem is solved by the youngsters. The idea of an 'unauthorised' nuclear war has been done before; most notably in 'Dr, Strangelove' although this isn't played for laughs like that film nor strangely enough is it anywhere near as bleak. I'm not sure that this would appeal to modern teens as it is dated and the Soviet threat has long gone; however if you were a teen in the eighties it is nostalgic fun.
We then cut to a school in Seattle where students David Lightman and Jennifer Mack have just failed a history exam; David doesn't see the problem though; he just connects to the school computer and changes their grades. Having established his computer prowess we see him trying to hack into a games software company's system; he thinks he has found the site but he has unwittingly found the computer that runs war simulations for the US Air Force. Once in he decides to play a game of 'Global Thermonuclear War' not realising that the computer will act as if a real attack was underway. Not surprisingly he is arrested and is taken to NORAD headquarters where he learns that the program is still running; if all out nuclear war is to be averted he will have to escape and, along with Jennifer, find the computer's creator before time runs out.
When I first watched this as a teen in the 1980s it was fairly exciting and seemed very modern with the way he had a computer at home and could connect to others over the telephone... now that aspect of the film seems very dated. The story itself is enjoyable though largely because Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy are likable leads as David and Jennifer. It is clear that this was aimed at a teen audience as we see the adults behave as idiots while the problem is solved by the youngsters. The idea of an 'unauthorised' nuclear war has been done before; most notably in 'Dr, Strangelove' although this isn't played for laughs like that film nor strangely enough is it anywhere near as bleak. I'm not sure that this would appeal to modern teens as it is dated and the Soviet threat has long gone; however if you were a teen in the eighties it is nostalgic fun.