WarGames (1983)

Waste of time

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A Masterpiece!

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Crafty and resourceful teenage computer whiz David (a fine and likeable performance by Matthew Broderick) hacks into a top secret government super computer that has complete control of America's nuclear arsenal. David inadvertently sets in motion a series of escalating events that could possibly trigger a third world war. Director John Badham keeps the ingenious and absorbing story zipping along at a brisk pace, maintains a generally serious tone throughout, and adroitly builds a tremendous amount of nerve-rattling tension. The clever script by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes not only makes a valid and provocative point on how a nuclear war is an unwinnable proposition, but also delivers an equally sharp and incisive commentary on the potential perils inherent in mankind's foolhardy desire to abdicate certain heavy responsibilities to machines under the frail hope that they will handle them better than we can. Ally Sheedy provides sturdy support as David's sweet girlfriend Jennifer. Moreover, this film further benefits from a terrific cast of top character actors: Dabney Coleman as arrogant jerk McKittrick, John Wood as bitter recluse creator Falken, Barry Corbin as the excitable General Berringer, Dennis Lipscomb as the starchy Watson, James Tolkan as hardnosed fed Wigen, and Michael Ensign as Berringer's dutiful aide. Juanin Clay also makes a favorable impression as McKittrick's feisty assistant Pat Healy while Eddie Deezen and Maury Chaykin have funny bits as a pair of wildly contrasting computer geeks. Arthur B. Rubinstein's spirited score hits the stirring spot. William A. Fraker's slick cinematography gives this picture a pleasing polished look. An excellent nail-biter.

The left starts out showing their utter ignorance concerning nuclear weapons. First of all, the men who monitor the "button" do NOT use revolvers, very unlikely. Next, the mutually assured destruction that the left fears so much, is actually what kept us safe for all of these years after WWII. If the USA had done away with all nuclear weapons, Russia and China would now be in control of the entire world. That is a fact. The reason we don't need to fear is that Russian's and Chinese are too intelligent to believe that the would get away with using their arsenal, they would not. Therefore, this movie makes it clear, keeping and even increasing a nuclear arsenal is the best way to keep the lunatic Russians and Chinese from taking over the world. But lefties won't understand this, they are too filled with stupidity and lack the basic common sense necessary to resolve problems.

I really liked this movie when it was released and I remember watching it in the theater, however now that I can stream it and binge watch it over and over again I have found the plot is full of holes and there are plenty of technical goofs in the movie. Enough so that it is no longer a movie that I like to watch.It will be good enough for people who have not seen it as often as I have watched. It has drama, suspense, young love interests, humor and insight to the idea that war is a worthless endeavor. No one really wins even if you think you are the winner.The actors and the direction are acceptable and I'd wish it didn't have the spotty bad language through out the movie. It doesn't have any violence nor does it have any sex scenes, so you might find it acceptable for the younger members of your family.However that is where I end my favorable review. (spoilers)The entire movie hinges on the idea that this computer system takes over a game being played and then decides that it needs to launch real missiles in order to complete the game. While this idea is interesting the entire logic behind the system is stupid.I noted that the main characters talk about 'Joshua' who hasn't learned a lesson yet but it is implied that tic-tac-toe was one of the games it needed to play in order to learn that global thermonuclear war was a waste of time.Am I supposed to believe that no one on the team or Prof Falken let the computer run the tic tac toe game against itself previously? I find that a flaw because as a computer person I know I let the computer play against itself many, many times when I had the opportunity to let it do so. Games like chess, TTT or Colonial Conquest.I also find it ridiculous that the entire 'hacking' aspect of the movie is flawed and I'm assuming at this time in our society things were so new that the director didn't have many experts to rely on for facts. The movie is riddled with mistakes on networking and computer logic.The list goes on and on. It is really a terrible script.I can only give 1/10 stars now, but if you would have asked me twenty years ago I would have given 10/10 stars.

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.