"War Games" (1983)

Rating: PG

Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery & Suspense

Directed By: John Badham

Written By: Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes, Walon Green

Released: June 3^rd, 1983

Runtime: 110 minutes

Studio: MGM

Summary:

High school student David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) unwittingly hacks into a military supercomputer while searching for new video games. After starting a game of Global Thermonuclear War, Lightman leads the supercomputer to activate the nation's nuclear arsenal in response to his simulated threat as the Soviet Union. Once the clueless hacker comes to his senses, Lightman, with help from his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy), must find a way to alert the authorities to stop the onset of World War III.

Review:

I really enjoyed this film! It was more exciting than I thought it was going to be!

In a pre-Ferris Bueller role, Matthew Broderick plays our gallant and technically minded lead in this adventure. Ally Sheedy plays his equally gallant co-lead.  

The film might look quite dated given how much technology and the world has evolved since this came out. But what’s at the heart of the story remains quite relevant today. With banks and credit cards and accounts and all of this stuff being operated and accessed online, nowadays the subject of hacking will always be a risky subject. The film holds up really well actually as a whole despite the dated looking computers. Even everything that David is able to do with the computers is still pretty impressive! 

None of the film feels unnecessary. It’s all very concise and keeps moving at a good pace with an engaging story. It might go a bit over the top but it comes back down to earth again. By giving the machine in the centre of the action a name “Joshua”, makes the action all the more thrilling. Personifying the computer suddenly offers the impression it really might have a life of its own and that makes it scarier. 

This is very enjoyable and definitely worth a watch.

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