WarGames (1983) User Reviews

Shall We Play A Game?

[slokes · 8/10 · 4 May 2004]

Cyberthrillers may not have started with "WarGames," but it was here the form achieved an early peak. As more filmmakers follow its example of portraying a high-tech faceoff between man and machine, "WarGames" remains a standard to be measured against. While it's not a film classic, it's a very, very good popcorn thriller of uncommon craft, charm, and humanity.

Seattle high schooler David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) has only a few hours to undo what he thought was a sneak preview of an upcoming computer game but what instead got him tinkering with the U.S. Air Force's WOPR (War Operation Planned Response) computer system in such a way as to trigger a countdown to World War III. The FBI thinks he's a Soviet spy, while classmate Jennifer Mack (Ally Sheedy) is wondering if this isn't all really about a rejiggered biology grade.

Broderick is solid, and Sheedy even better, but what really sells this film is everything else. Start with the excellent supporting performances. John Wood as a reclusive professor and Barry Corbin as a tobacco-chewing general get much of the kudos, and rightly, but there's a whole deep bench of quality work beyond that, like Kent Williams as a curt White House advisor, William Bogert and Susan Davis as David's out-of-it parents, Alan Blumenfeld as the swaggering bully of a biology teacher, and Juanin Clay as a beautiful but underappreciated assistant (even by herself as she uses her own mouth as an ashcan for her boss's discarded gum.) You know the casting people behind this movie were on the ball when the opening sequence features two very recognizable faces, those of Michael Madsen and John Spencer, in what were film debuts for both.

That sequence with Madsen and Spencer as missile men point up another quality of "WarGames," the way the movie works in terms of setting up expectations and developing pace. The harrowing business between the two of them is mercilessly presented ("Turn your key, sir!") and then effectively abandoned so as to work in the central storyline, the replacement of these men with computers. We get a macro-view where Dabney Coleman as a tunnel-visioned warroom executive effectively makes the case for "taking the men out of the loop" and then zoom back into what seems a totally unrelated story, that of slacker teen David Lightman and his high school travails.

The film could have just started with Lightman, and worked its way out to the business with the WOPR. But the early peek behind the curtain is a clever way of raising the stakes with the audience before the protagonist realizes what's up.

The set design, cinematography, lighting, and editing all work wonders as well. The NORAD warroom is really a character onto itself, the ultimate source of reality in this film (and better for my money than the warroom in `Dr. Strangelove,' an obvious inspiration.) The way the cameras dart around from terminal to terminal as uniformed USAF technicians follow the progress of an apparent Soviet attack, lighting onto one of them just before he or she relays an important piece of information, is highly addictive and entertaining.

There's some sloppiness in the movie. Madsen and Spencer's talk about this great pot Spencer's character has scored strains credulity in the high-security setting they are in, and its blindingly obvious that the two men we see exiting a helicopter and entering a jeep during the credits are not the same two men getting out of the jeep moments later. The musical score is terrible, except for the elegiac tune at the end by which time it's too late. And there's no real examination of the morality of Lightman's serial lawbreaking.

But this is a funny, exciting, consciousness-raising movie that is as entertaining now with the Cold War more than a decade behind us as it was all those years ago. For all the technical innovation on display, it's ironically appropriate we remember it for showing us how to butter an ear of corn, because it's the human side of the equation `WarGames' keeps in its sights at all times.

[The DVD features a terrific, candid commentary from director John Badham and writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter Parkes that gives one a real appreciation for the value of creative license as well as factual diligence in making a film of this kind work.]

An Old Favorite For Many

[FiendishDramaturgy · 8/10 · 18 April 2007]

This was an old favorite for many younger baby-boomers, who were teenagers and in their twenties at the dawn of the personal computer age.

This one was a bit more than amusing, though. It opened many eyes to both the potential and the dangers we faced while coming into the computer age. The government had these marvelous machines and the internet by which they communicated for decades before the public was given access from these ancient Commodore 64's, Amigas, and Atari home computers via phone line, back in the late 1970's.

While this work is entertaining, it also bears a valid warning, even today.

Broderick and Ally Sheedy both were 21, playing 17 year olds, competently.

It rates a 7.6/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Let's play Global Thermonuclear War

[hall895 · 7/10 · 2 July 2009]

WarGames is a film which in some ways seems hopelessly dated and in other ways seems to have been way ahead of its time. There's the Cold War angle, the United States and the Soviet Union gearing up for the seemingly inevitable World War III and the nuclear holocaust that would go along with it. It's a 1980s storyline which doesn't play as well all these years later with the Soviet Union long having been consigned to the dustbin of history. Nowadays the threat comes not from one communist superpower but from...well, pretty much anywhere it seems. But then again this movie, made in 1983, is at its heart really about a computer hacker. Who, in 1983, even knew there was such a thing as a computer hacker? Ahead of its time this movie is.

While certain aspects of the story may seem less relevant today there is no denying that WarGames is an effective, entertaining thriller. There may be some flaws in the movie's logic now and again, not everything we see seems entirely plausible. But the movie works. The story centers around Seattle high school student David Lightman, who is not doing particularly well in school. But it's not because he isn't bright, he certainly is. He just seems unmotivated and perhaps distracted by his obsession with computers. That obsession plays itself out as he attempts to hack into a video game manufacturer's computer...and instead unknowingly hacks into a Defense Department computer. In playing the "games" on that computer he almost starts World War III. Whoops.

Matthew Broderick plays David and his performance is excellent as he portrays a young teen who finds himself caught up in a situation beyond his imagination. Ally Sheedy plays his friend Jennifer, a character who seems a tad bit underdeveloped. It often seems that Jennifer's just along for the ride rather than having any real purpose in the plot. But Sheedy does well with what she has to work with. Our young hero and heroine are very much the focus of the story, at times to detrimental effect. All the adults in the story seem rather one-dimensional. Some of them have very important roles to play in the story yet we never know much of anything about them. Besides David and Jennifer there's really only one other character for whom there is any kind of character development going on and that character doesn't even show up until rather late in the proceedings. But this is a movie which will definitely hold your attention. It's a tense, taut thriller which also has some heart to it. And it often looks spectacular, most notably in the scenes which take place inside the NORAD war room, a movie set which was stunningly impressive for its time and actually would still be stunningly impressive today. All in all WarGames is a well-made, suspenseful, enjoyable film. It has its flaws but it is still a film well worth seeing.

Wanna play Global Thermonuclear War?

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 4 March 2008]

It was with much interest to me to revisit this early 80s hacker piece armed with the knowledge of just how the advent of change in the computer world had evolved. With that in mind the film could quite easily be classed as a bit clunky due to the now almost Neanderthal toys, games and computers used in the movie, but casting aside the nostalgia feelings I had with it, it still hits the spot as both a poignant piece of interest, and a damn good thriller as well.

Matthew Broderick is David Lightman, a young computer gamer geek who is something of a whizz kid on the PC. He can change his school grades and hack into various sites he shouldn't be even looking at. During one eventful sitting he hacks into a computer called Joshua and plays a game called Global Thermonuclear War, he harmlessly chooses to be The Soviet Union and proceeds to launch a nuclear attack on his own country, the U.S.A. Trouble is, is that the game is for real and the wheels are in motion for World War III!.

It helps to remember the time this film was made (for those old enough of course), for it was the time of the ever worrying cloud of the Cold War, a time when nuclear war was more than a hearsay threat. I really think that in this day and age where computers literally do run our lives, this film stands up really well not only as a warning piece about messing with technology, but also as a gentle poke in the ribs about defence systems and the people we trust to run them. Though the film is a kind of watered down and accessible 2001: A Space Odyssey for the 80s set, it impacts well and only really suffers from a pointless romantic plot strand involving the sprightly Ally Sheedy (could they not just have been pals?) and the aforementioned dated gadgets. The ending to the film is excellent as the tension builds up nicely and we are left chewing our nails watching a game of Tic-Tac-Toe, sounds simple doesn't it? Not so.

Good honest and intelligent entertainment. 7.5/10

Exciting and well-researched thriller

[tomgillespie2002 · 7/10 · 11 January 2012]

In the 1980's, the realisation that computers will soon play an extremely important role in everyday life was becoming more and more evident. This idea was treated with excitement, curiosity, and fear - people genuinely did not know how powerful they would become, but they were certainly fearful of it. Cinema explored this fear in successful films such as The Terminator (1984), which depicted a future where humans were locked into a battle with robots, and Tron (1982), in which a character is sucked into a game where he is forced to battle with the computer to survive. Never had the capabilities of computers been so realistically portrayed than in WarGames, a film that introduced the world to home computers, hacking, and how humanity can be replaced by machines (as well as the idea that nuclear destruction is still a threat).

When two missile controllers fail to launch a missile during a test launch due to uncertainty, government bigwig McKittrick (Dabney Coleman) introduces his superiors to WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), a giant super-computer that repeatedly plays games with itself to generate stats and results of possible nuclear war outcomes. The operation is given the go-ahead, and workers find themselves replaced by this metallic super- brain, that will deal with any potential nuclear threat to the US. High school punk David (Matthew Broderick) is a highly intelligent computer- obsessive who uses his hacking skills to change his grades on his high school system. When he learns that a company is releasing new breakthrough games in California, he scans the area for computers in order to hack into their mainframe. He stumbles upon a computer that lists many strange war games, including 'Global Thermonuclear War'. He begins a game, choosing to be Russia, but unbeknownst to him, he is actually playing WOPR who is playing the game for real. Soon David is brought in by the FBI who suspect him of working with the Russians, while the threat of global nuclear destruction lingers as WOPR carries on playing the 'game'.

I viewed this film quite often when I was a child as I owned the VHS, but admittedly the film went over my head somewhat and I found it quite boring. Watching it now, I was shocked to find out this is a very good film, and it makes for a gripping adult thriller, while maintaining that 1980's kids-film-feel. The technical aspects shown on screen are extremely well-researched, and David's hacking activities make for exciting and interesting viewing. It's also fascinating to see the early giant, clunky computers of the 1980's and an early portrayal of the Internet. Overall, this is a highly entertaining thriller that is well acted, scripted and filmed (and even received three Academy Award nominations), and has plenty of those nostalgic qualities for us children of the 80's.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

A young computer whizz kid accidentally taps into a top secret super-computer and nearly starts WW3

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 26 July 2013]

A rogue young man named David (Matthew Broderick) along with his best friend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) hack into their high school's computer to change his grade and later on , find a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III . As the United State's Department of Homeland Security is led to believe an American teen hacker playing a terrorist-attack simulator game online is a real terrorist out to destroy the U.S . The system is called the War Operation Plan Response, or WOPR for short, developed by brilliant but now deceased scientist Stephen Falken (John Wood), who programmed the system to learn continually through game simulations . At the end , a message : The only winning move is not to play.

This is an entertaining film of the 80s ; it was way ahead of its time and it stills grips the spectator . A popular flick in which a young computer whiz hooks into a game manufacturer's computer and accidentally starts WWII when he decides to play a selection titled ¨Global Thermonuclear Warfare¨ . The picture contains almost no violence , nor murders or any other sensationalistic content . Interesting as well as amusing screenplay by writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes who during their extensive research for the film, made friends with many 'hackers' and security experts. They later wrote ¨Sneakers¨ another film featuring 'hackers' and security experts. Likable starring couple , Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy , both of whom hold a great chemistry . Large support cast such as Barry Corbin , Dabney Coleman , Dennis Lipscomb and many of them uncredited as Michael Madsen , Eddie Deezen , James Tolkan , ArtLeFleur , William H. Macy , Maury Chaykin and John Spencer . Special mention to John Wood as Professor Stephen Falken ; main inspiration for this character was Cambridge Professor Stephen Hawking ; he was originally approached to appear in the movie, but he declined because he didn't want the producers exploiting his disability . Adequate musical score accompanying the action by Arthur B. Rubinstein and inventively photographed by classic cameraman William A Fraker . The film was part of a 1980s cycle of films about atomic bombs and nuclear warfare which had started in 1979 with ¨The China syndrome¨. The films included ¨Silkwood¨, ¨Testament¨, ¨Threads¨, ¨The day after¨ , ¨The Atomic Cafe¨, ¨Ground zero¨,¨Special Bulletin¨ , ¨Barefoot Gen¨, ¨Rules of Engagement¨, ¨Letters from a Dead Man¨ , ¨The chain reaction¨, among others . Followed by an inferior remake titled ¨ WarGames: The Dead Code (2008)¨ by Stuart Gillard with Matt Lanter as Will Farmer , Amanda Walsh as Annie D'Mateo , Colm Feore as Joshua and Chuck Shamata as Bill Carter .

The motion picture was professionally directed by John Badham , though the original director was Martin Brest, and several of the scenes he shot are still in the movie , but he was fired as filmmaker a short while into production due to creative differences . Badham's breakthrough credit was the box office smash Fever Saturday night (1977) ; other hits on his resume include The Blue Thunder (1983), War games (1983), and Shortcircuit (1986). He's a nice director who achieved his greatest success in the 80s and 90s . He directed several hits (Drop zone , Nick of time , Skateout ,Point of No Return , Bird on a wire) , though today making TV movies (Jack Bull , Floating away) and television episodes (Crossing Jordan, Psych, Las Vegas, Standoff , Heroes).

Ahead of it's time

[metalrox_2000 · 10/10 · 18 June 2005]

Wargames was a movie that was way ahead of its time. No one was making films about hacking into computer systems. The only computers used in movies were on space ships. No home computer has ever really been brought to the big screen. Wargames broke from the normal studio sci fi norm of either Earth being visited by aliens (E.T) or battles of Good and Evil in space (Star Wars, Star Trek). With the raise in hacker crime rate now, and seeing how Dependant we've become on computers, Wargames was a movie with it the eye on the future. Imaginative story, great cast (who, despite other reviews, do not phone it in) Wargames is a true gem, as it was recently listed by AFI as one of the top 100 sci fi movies of all time. Broderick was perfect as a slacker teen, and Ally Sheedy turns in one of her best performance, making the most of an under developed character. Dabney Coleman showed why he was one of the busiest actors in the 1980's (though he always better cast as a villain), and Barry Corbin could play almost anything convincingly. while the special effects may be dated by todays standard, Wargames helped shape the way people think and speak. Backdoors, hacking, were not common terms like they are today. Without a doubt, much in agreement with AFI, Wargames remains one of the most important films ever made.

Chillingly effective.

[gridoon · 7/10 · 13 November 1999]

"WarGames" is a surprisingly effective thriller, thanks to its highly original premise and Badham's literally flawless direction. Broderick's and Sheedy's winning performances also help. Fortunately, the movie doesn't contain too much technical "jargon": it is more interested in its clearly stated anti-war message, while at the same time it works as suspenseful entertainment. It may be a little far-fetched sometimes, but when that final moment arrives when the computer realizes that "the only winning move is not to play", be prepared to feel a genuine chill.

"Shall we play a game?"

[DavidSim240183 · 9/10 · 11 May 2007]

That line spoken by Joshua, the defence computer at NORAD never fails to send shivers down my spine. Even though I've seen WarGames 500 times, its a classic line. Just as resonant as Gloria Swanson asking Mr De Mille for her closeup. Or John Candy's heartfelt "I like me" speech in Planes, Trains & Automobiles. The difference between Joshua and those people is Joshua is not a real person. Just a computer. But a computer that has a very difficult time distinguishing fantasy from reality. A computer with the same foibles as any flesh and blood person.

WarGames was so ahead of its time in so many ways. The way it embraced modems, the use of computer jargon like firewalls. Commonplace things today but practically unheard of back in 1983. Granted some of the technology may have dated (you get to see an actual floppy disk) but the film's message hasn't faded. And nor has its power. They're just as strong as ever.

David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) is the classic hi-tech nerd. He's a bright boy. He knows the ins and outs of all the computers. And he hacks into systems with all the skill of a safecracker. But he's an underachiever at school. Hasn't got many friends. And he gets on the wrong side of all the teachers. And his parents.

David is far more interested in playing computer games. And when he learns a toy company is planning to release up to date ones in a few months, he wants the inside story. So he hacks into systems until he finds the right one. And he finds one alright. But not the system he thinks.

When he taps into Joshua, David gets the chance to play Global ThermoNuclear War. And accidentally sets in motion the countdown to World War III.

There is something almost blackly humorous to the way WarGames' screenplay turns. How through one innocent little action, David begins a chain reaction of increasingly dire circumstances. Although WarGames never gets as black as Dr Strangelove, its very effective in its first half, as the different steps David takes get more and more unnerving. Its all summed up perfectly at the halfway point with another classic line from Joshua, WarGames' answer to Hal 9000. When asked if Global ThermoNuclear War is a game or not, Joshua innocently replies "What's the difference?"

It does tend to get a bit bogged down in the second half with a lot of ethical debates over the futility of nuclear war. But that doesn't change the fact that WarGames has got an exceptional cast. Even at the start of his career, and only 21 at the time, Matthew Broderick gives an assured performance. And modulates his character accordingly when David gets in over his head.

Ally Sheedy is sometimes a difficult actress to tune in to, but she gives Jennifer, David's only real friend a lot of life and spunk. John Wood is suitably flaky as Joshua's creator, Dabney Coleman perfectly obnoxious as the head of the computers David's messed with, and Barry Corbin's general more than just a one-dimensional caricature. Which would have been a lot easier to play.

I didn't always buy into the technical somersaults that WarGames comes out with. David's method of escaping from NORAD is something that just doesn't ring true. And you have to suspend disbelief a little too much. All they're seeing on those big screens is false. And no one puts it together. But there is something frightening about the film's conceit all the same.

The line that separates reality from fantasy becomes blurred. And when the subject in question is nuclear war, who wouldn't be carried along with that? It all works on the level of a paranoid nightmare that just keeps on going and refuses to stop.

The final scenes though are quite philosophical. And again its Joshua who provides that unrelenting, implacable logic. Only this time tempered with common sense. WarGames is filled with many great characters, but its Joshua who is the film's heart. That final line at the end is a statement of such striking intelligence, its almost scary:

"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."

Interesting, original idea that delivers for the most part...

[MovieAddict2016 · 29 February 2004]

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. Matthew Broderick is the teenager computer nerd who hacks into a military database through a "back door" and starts to unintentionally play games--which are, quite surprisingly, not games after all. He's really controlling the military! With WWIII nearing, the movie takes some twists and turns and it's all good fun.

Broderick is well-cast and this is probably one of the roles, along with Ferris Bueller, that stereotyped him as a continual teenager--which makes it hard for him to get adult roles nowadays. (He's in the upcoming remake of "The Producers"--yay!)

Ally Sheedy and Dabney Coleman both have supporting roles.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and rate it a solid "4" of five stars.

Trivia note: Sheedy and Broderick both appeared in separate movies by John Hughes: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "The Breakfast Club."

Bonafide '80s classic

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 10 March 2015]

Having never watched WARGAMES, I feared that it would be one of those bloated, overrated, downright silly '80s movies, hardly deserving of its classic status. Well, it isn't. In fact, it turns out to be a great film, one that remains endlessly enjoyable despite the leaps and bounds that computer technology has made since this movie came out.

Matthew Broderick stars as the likable lead, a teenage computer genius who accidentally hacks into a NORAD computer and all but brings about nuclear war. Yes, this is a film in that '80s 'nuke' cycle, and it's one that brings the palm-sweating seriousness of the situation to life, while at the same time providing plenty of entertainment value along the way. Watching the narrative unfold is a delight, and it's one of those rare beasts that manages to keep the momentum going right up until the closing credits. Great fun indeed.

The Only Winning Move Is not to Play

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 29 January 2012]

In Seattle, the teenager David (Matthew Broderick) is a lazy but bright student that prefers to hack and change his grades in the high-school computer than study. One day, David's best friend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) is with him and he decides to hack the toy company Protovision seeking new games and he accidentally connects the War Operation Plan Response system in a computer located at the North American Aerospace (NORAD) at Birmingham using the password Joshua that was the name of the son of its creator, the deceased scientist Stephen Falken (John Wood).

David challenges the computer to play a Global Thermonuclear War game between USA and the Soviet Union. Sooner he realizes that the computer is playing for real and the United States of America is changing its condition to DEFCON 1 in a game with no winners.

"Wargames" is one of my favorite films of the 80's and despite the Cold War, it is nostalgic to watch again a period with little violence in the world and how life was easier, flying in a plane is just as one good example that we can see in this film. Hollywood still was able to make good movies based on great original stories. Matthew Broderick was an amazing promising actor with "Ladyhawke" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and the hacker David is ahead of time. Ally Sheedy shows her charm, lovely smile and a great chemistry with Broderick.

"Wargame" has a witty and funny story with a magnificent message in times of Cold War that is highlighted in the very end: "The Only Winning Move (in a nuclear war) Is not to Play". Fortunately most of the Powers that Be of the world has finally understood this message with the end of the Cold War. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Jogos de Guerra" ("War Games")

Solid teen adventure...

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 13 September 2013]

...not that it's just for kids.

Released in 1983, "War Games" is about a computer whiz (Matthew Broderick) who accidentally hacks into a super computer that controls the US nuclear arsenal. Innocently thinking he's playing a game, he chooses to be the Soviet Union and, suddenly, we're on the verge of World War III!

"War Games" combines the malevolent computer theme of "2001: A Space Odyssey" with the mountain military base shenanigans of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" to produce what is essentially a teen adventure a la Scooby Doo, but without the cartoony horror trappings and the dog. Broderick and his sidekick, Ally Sheedy, were both 20 at the time of filming, but look around 15-16.

Although overrated in some quarters (Roger Ebert, for instance, gives it a perfect rating), "War Games" is a fun, entertaining youth adventure with some good suspense here and there. It's like young Indiana Jones in the modern day, but with toned-down action. Broderick is a worthy protagonist with his doe eyes & smarts and Sheedy is a quality female sidekick, beautiful too, in a girl-next-door type of way (the best kind).

The film runs 114 minutes and was mostly shot in Washington (state), but also California and Colorado.

GRADE: B

Hey! I like WarGames...

[rick1216 · 5/10 · 19 March 2006]

Yes I'm a geezer and personally I like this movie. Sure it has ancient computer hardware and the software is so out of date most of us don't remember what it was like. In 1983 the internet wasn't even close to being considered for what it is used for today. Few homes then had a personal computer they were to expensive for the "casual" user. Would love to see it updated. With the currently rash of remakes in Hollywood and all the dark times in current events it would be interesting to see a modern twist on this movies genre. We know there are still hackers out there and certainly film makers are more savvy to the computer age that a remake of this particular script could certainly turn out to be a better movie than the original.

The original hacker-nerd movie

[Lisandro Berenguer-Grassi · 7/10 · 23 June 2001]

I remember seeing WarGames back in the 80s. I was 11 or 12 and had just discovered computers (ZX-81, for those in the "know"). Those little machines had me totally hooked up, mesmerized. So, when the movie came out, I rushed to the movie theater in no time.

In that moment, the film impacted me as the coolest movie ever. I mean, we have this kid, David, who is a total computer nerd and spends his time playing games (know anyone like that?), hacks into an ultra sophisticated military mainframe, almost screws it up but ends up saving the world and getting the girl (the totally doable Ally Sheedy!). What else can we ask for?

Ah, the plot thing. And the script, the acting and the technical aspects. Well, we have solid characters, supported by good acting; a credible storyline (for this kind of movie, of course; it's more credible than "The Net" or "Hackers", for instance) and good direction. No FX, no explosions, no bulls***. Filmmaking in its purest form.

Yeah, the film is outdated nowadays... but so is my old and faithful ZX-81! And my C64! And my Amiga! And my green-phosphorus monitored 640K PC clone! Any movie related to technology is doomed to be outdated some day. But what is NOT outdated is the sense of thrill and fun that permeates the film, and which differentiates a good movie from an opportunistic piece of crap.

Really Ahead of Its Time

[Hitchcoc · 4 December 2016]

Ally Sheedy and Matthew Broderick, a couple of kids, become involved in something that is far beyond them. Broderick, who knows computers (in1983), inadvertently gets into a game (or so he thinks) of Thermonuclear War. It turns out that he has actually hacked into a military program that is feeding the U.S. information about that very subject. It's not a game as he thought it was but he also realizes what is happening. Now the problem is that he needs to convince someone what is going on, and they, then, have to put a stop to it. Think what little effect the computer world had in those days and realize how dangerous they have become. Good chemistry by two future stars.

Scary...when I was a kid

[Rammstein-2 · 6/10 · 7 September 2000]

This movie was really scary to me when I first saw it. I was terrified by the idea that a nuclear war would ever occur, and if it would because of some mistake, that would be even more alarming. And this film sure helps imagination along.

As such, it is successful. But there are many questions, and the mere chance that some high school kid hacks into a computer designed for games and control of the US nukes (how about that?) is...well, let's say slim.

But, nonetheless, it scared the willies out of me as a kid, and now it is interesting to watch. I would like to have a remote controlled pterodactyl too.

A Dangerous Game

[AaronCapenBanner · 6/10 · 27 November 2013]

John Badham directed this computer-gone-mad picture that stars Mathew Broderick as David, a rebellious teenager and computer whiz who likes to hack into his high school computer system to change his grades to an "A", or insult his science teacher. Things take a serious turn when he accidentally hacks into the Pentagon's computer that controls the missiles aimed at Russia. David and the computer think it is a game, but it turns out to be frighteningly real, as David finds himself targeted by the military, forcing him and his girlfriend Jennifer(played by Ally Sheedy) to go on the run... Entertaining film may have a most unlikely premise(one would hope!) but is well cast and directed. Dabney Coleman is quite good as David's chief "nemesis".

This movie was a door opened to my life's career

[acdc_mp3 · 10/10 · 14 June 2020]

From the opening scene, I was mesmerized by the technology displayed. The thought processes displayed in figuring how to break into systems, by pass door locks, make a pay phone work for free, and how to prevent a world war kick started my problem solving mind. I started working with computers in 1983 because of this movie and I cultivated into an engineering career that I have to this day. It is still completely watchable 37 years later because the story is well written and the characters are well portrayed, particularly by Dabney Coleman, Barry, Matthew Broderick, and John Wood.

So thank you, "Wargames". If I didn't watch you back in 1983 as 19 year old who had no idea what he wanted to do, I would probably be in a career I would not be enjoying as much as the one I have now.

80's movie that still impresses

[bobkuhl · 7/10 · 8 January 2022]

War games is one of the few '80s movies that will stand the test of time. A good script, good casting, limited but effective special effects (credit to the director: besides the dial-up modem, the whole computer thing is not outdated, and a director's vision that avoids stereotypes and tropes, all add up to a good thriller yhat will still entertain and keep a viewer on the edge of a seat up until the final scene.

Still packs a punch

[imdb-9163 · 8/10 · 20 October 2009]

Watching this movie 25 years on, it still works. Obviously the onward march of technology has rendered several of the central plot devices redundant (although, to be honest, most modern techno-thriller entries are far less plausible) but the sheer tension of the story grabs you almost from the off and never lets go - there aren't many genre movies that got an Oscar-nomination for screenplay, which amply demonstrates its quality.

And the last ten minutes or so are still jaw-dropping. That spectacular (if implausible) NORAD set is as astounding as ever, and the last line still deserves it's place in the pantheon.

Laugh at the antiquated tech by all means, but be impressed by the effort taken to make it feel believable (cf. the sequence where Broderick's character gets the password for the school computer.) Hacker movies have rarely come this close to being real - and, as someone who had been there and done that at about that time, it was scarily right.

In no way is this one of the greatest movies ever made. But there's no question that it achieves the rare quality of transcending it's genre.

A good film that might have been a classic

[runamokprods · 7/10 · 26 August 2014]

Seeing this again, 30 years later, I'm of two minds. There's still a lot to enjoy in this slightly Disney version of an end-of-the-world thriller. There's a lot of clever twists in the plot, some lovely performances, some real tension.

But it also all feels a bit light and softened to make it more audience friendly. That was probably the right decision commercially, but maybe not artistically. If original director Martin Brest had been allowed to finish the film, with the somewhat darker original script I read back then, I wonder if this could have been a bit of a minor classic, in the family of great nuclear war films like Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe, instead of an entertaining, intelligent thrill ride. There are also, on reflection some big logic holes you could fly missiles through.

But at the end of the day, I still enjoyed re-seeing it, smiling a good deal of the time.

Pleased with the film

[RebelMe · 8/10 · 6 February 2006]

If you want to see a film with the most real style of hacking, forget Swordfish, The Net and all these other films where "hackers" work in graphically superb programs and can hack government server in few seconds. Broderick, working in his text-only mode, using social-engineering and having good abilities handling primitive electric devices is nearest the real world's "hacking", at least in his period.

As thought that the film sometimes lacks tension, especially in the middle, it has its very strong moments. To be honest, I got most excited on the very beginning, I really loved it.

The performances are good, but I disliked and didn't believe the performance of the man, who should have played the wooden-head general. It seemed to be too overacted. He himself lowered my rating by one.

This film might not be so interesting for people, who aren't interested in computers, because, as I mentioned upper, the plot lacks some deeper crisis, but I thing that everyone else will like it, so if you match the upper criterion I can recommend you only one thing: Go and get it!

Dr. Strangelove for '80s teens

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 31 December 2012]

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.

It is interesting to watch the test of time here...

[thomas196x2000 · 5/10 · 31 August 2021]

I saw this movie when it came out. I was a computer salesman at a computer store, and a guy I worked with was a slightly uglier version of Matthew Broderick and was a total whiz kid as well. He could have been his stand in, and likely given technical assistance to the film. So there was that point, and I did like the premise. I remember finding it mildly entertaining, and of course I liked "the line" about playing the game at the end.

But, I just watched this again last night, or should I say, tried to.

First, the David character is a dick. He is through the entire movie. We are supposed to root for him, but his hacking is causing a total disaster to start. And he never pays for it. He's a cheat in school, and he insults his well-meaning teacher for no reason.

His parents are portrayed as disconnected fools...while their son is trying to scam companies out of their latest innovations by hacking into their systems, dad take 20 minutes to get the butter on his corn and mom is even more oblivious.

There's supposed to be some sort of romance with the Ally Sheedy character, but she bounces around almost identically to the big mangy dog she likes to play with. I am surprised she didn't lick David upon seeing him.

Then there is the parade of geeks and idiot government hacks. Of course, the main military guy is a fat blowhard. Did we miss any other stereotypes?

Now watching over 30 years later!!!! I had to turn the thing off in the first hour, it was enough. Sometimes nostalgia is best left in the mind. 5 stars for ideas and production values only.