WarGames

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

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 :.

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).

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."

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.