WarGames
3 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
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.
What critics thought
WarGames landed as one of the sharper Cold War thrillers of its era, winning over critics with its blend of teenage energy and genuine nuclear-age dread. The tech-hobbyist press was particularly enthusiastic, praising the film for treating computers as an organic part of everyday life rather than a gimmick. The main fault line in reviews was the third act: some felt the script's convenient resolutions and incurious adult characters undermined what had been a tightly wound setup, while others found the payoff fully earned.
“an amazingly entertaining thriller”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Very funny, excruciatingly suspenseful, and endlessly inventive, this movie is right on the mark; authentic even when highly improbable.”
Softline
“for a long time, Badham sustains a playful mood, a combination of Hardy Boys enthusiasm, good-natured humor and high-tech adventure”
Robert Denerstein·Rocky Mountain News
“Wargames is a tense, tight film, sharply acted, funny, sane, and with a plot twist for every chilling sub-routine in WOPR's scenarios for World War III.”
Colin Greenland·Imagine
Genres
Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Cast & Crew
DirectorJohn Badham
StarringMatthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin
ComposerArthur B. Rubinstein
WarGames
3 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
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.
What critics thought
WarGames landed as one of the sharper Cold War thrillers of its era, winning over critics with its blend of teenage energy and genuine nuclear-age dread. The tech-hobbyist press was particularly enthusiastic, praising the film for treating computers as an organic part of everyday life rather than a gimmick. The main fault line in reviews was the third act: some felt the script's convenient resolutions and incurious adult characters undermined what had been a tightly wound setup, while others found the payoff fully earned.
“an amazingly entertaining thriller”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Very funny, excruciatingly suspenseful, and endlessly inventive, this movie is right on the mark; authentic even when highly improbable.”
Softline
“for a long time, Badham sustains a playful mood, a combination of Hardy Boys enthusiasm, good-natured humor and high-tech adventure”
Robert Denerstein·Rocky Mountain News
“Wargames is a tense, tight film, sharply acted, funny, sane, and with a plot twist for every chilling sub-routine in WOPR's scenarios for World War III.”
Colin Greenland·Imagine
Genres
Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Cast & Crew
DirectorJohn Badham
StarringMatthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin
ComposerArthur B. Rubinstein
Rent/Purchase