WarGames main backdrop
WarGames main poster

7.1/10 • 2K

1983-06-031h 54m

ThrillerScience FictionDrama

Is it a game, or is it real?

High school student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Department of Defense's war computer and initiates a confrontation of global proportions. Together with his friend and a wizardly computer genius, David must race against time to outwit his opponent and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.

Directors
John Badham
Editors
Tom Rolf

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Matthew Broderick

    Matthew Broderick

    David Lightman

  2. Dabney Coleman

    Dabney Coleman

    McKittrick

  3. John Wood

    John Wood

    Stephen Falken

  4. Ally Sheedy

    Ally Sheedy

    Jennifer

  5. Barry Corbin

    Barry Corbin

    General Beringer

  6. Juanin Clay

    Juanin Clay

    Pat Healy

  7. Kent Williams

    Kent Williams

    Cabot

  8. Dennis Lipscomb

    Dennis Lipscomb

    Watson

  9. Joe Dorsey

    Joe Dorsey

    Conley

Reviews2

View Reviews
John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Apr 26, 2020

7/10

Wanna play Global Thermonuclear War? 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

Media

  • WarGames poster
  • WarGames poster
  • WarGames poster
  • WarGames poster
  • WarGames poster
  • WarGames poster
  • WarGames poster
  • WarGames poster
  • WarGames poster

Recommendations

  • WarGames: The Dead Code main backdrop

    WarGames: The Dead Code

    5.1

  • Outland main backdrop

    Outland

    6.4

  • Storm main backdrop

    Storm

    5.4

  • Warlock main backdrop

    Warlock

    6.2

  • Short Circuit main backdrop

    Short Circuit

    6.6

  • The Lawnmower Man main backdrop

    The Lawnmower Man

    5.6

  • Krull main backdrop

    Krull

    6.1

  • The Last Starfighter main backdrop

    The Last Starfighter

    6.6

  • The Mystery of the Yellow Room main backdrop

    The Mystery of the Yellow Room

    6.6

  • The Beast of War main backdrop

    The Beast of War

    7.0

  • Last Chance Harvey main backdrop

    Last Chance Harvey

    6.3

  • Clockstoppers main backdrop

    Clockstoppers

    5.3

  • Saturn 3 main backdrop

    Saturn 3

    5.3

  • The Prophecy II main backdrop

    The Prophecy II

    6.0

  • Le Petit Soldat main backdrop

    Le Petit Soldat

    7.0

  • The Toy main backdrop

    The Toy

    5.8

  • Iron Eagle II main backdrop

    Iron Eagle II

    4.5

  • Ma che colpa abbiamo noi main backdrop

    Ma che colpa abbiamo noi

    6.4

  • Rob the Mob main backdrop

    Rob the Mob

    6.1

  • Brighton Beach Memoirs main backdrop

    Brighton Beach Memoirs

    6.5

Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$12,000,000.00
Revenue
$124,600,000.00
Keywords
artificial intelligence (a.i.)computergovernmenthackervideo gamecold warfbiprosecutionnoradnuclear threatparanoidtensehopeful