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WarGames

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WarGames (1983)

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96 %
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Reviews Counted: 26

Fresh: 25

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 7.4/10

Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: In director John Badham's WARGAMES, Matthew Broderick stars as David Lightman, a young hacker who accidentally logs on to the Department of Defense's network. Thinking that he's found a cool new... In director John Badham's WARGAMES, Matthew Broderick stars as David Lightman, a young hacker who accidentally logs on to the Department of Defense's network. Thinking that he's found a cool new computer game manufacturer, David plays checkers, chess, and other more intriguing games like Global Thermonuclear War. Realizing that their system has been tampered with, military operatives arrest him. However, the computer continues to play the "game" of thermonuclear warfare without David and generates the very real threat of World War III. In an attempt to prevent global disaster, David and his girlfriend, Jennifer (Ally Sheedy), search desperately for the scientist who designed the system before the goverment computer initates a full-scale nuclear war. A landmark of 1980s cinema, WARGAMES was keenly tuned into its time. Computers remained a relative mystery in the early 1980s, as they were used primarily by large corporations and government agencies, but not by many individuals at home. The general public had already been warned of the danger of computer takeover in 1968 with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and this paranoia grew as computers became more popular. The threat of communist takeover and nuclear war loomed large in the collective consciousness, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war. Video games had become highly popular, however, and for a generation of Pac-Man and Space Invaders players WARGAMES combined the country's deepest fears with its biggest fantasies. Badham's suspenseful film brings those fears to light in an exciting, fast-paced film with a great cast (Broderick, Sheedy, John Wood, Barry Corbin, Dabney Coleman) and excellent special effects. [More]

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin, John Wood

Director: John Badham

Director: John Badham

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 28, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for WarGames

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 1 Comment
04/30/09
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What works best about it works still: it's a paranoid film with an ambiguous ending.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
11/09/08
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

As tense and effective now as it was 25 years ago. The worry back then was more about Soviet missiles than about credit card identity theft, but good filmmaking techniques haven't changed.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
03/14/08
Michael Booth
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the early films to warn about the dangers of hackers and the possibilities of computers controlling our lives.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/10/08
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The film hasn't nearly the despair of Dr. Strangelove, but it retains the same underlining moral questions in its portrayal of these unimaginable dilemmas.

Full Review Source: Projection Booth | comment Comment
07/19/07
Rob Humanick
Projection Booth
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/12/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Dated now, due to computer tech, but still tense.

comment Comment
06/01/05
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

As a premise for a thriller, this is a masterstroke.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
09/10/04
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Like a video game once played, tends to disappear from one's memory bank as soon as it's finished.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment 3 Comments
08/30/04
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Tight little thriller from the '80s.

comment Comment
03/12/04
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

No review available.

comment Comment
02/10/04
Spence D.
IGN Movies

The movie's effect on Hollywood and the American consciousness can still be seen today.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/25/03
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Classic techno-thriller. Despite the old hardware, the concepts still hold up today.

comment Comment
07/14/03
Fred Topel
About.com

No review available.

comment Comment
05/01/03
Rebecca Murray
About.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/12/03
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

One of the first movies to make young and old alike sit up and notice that there was a brave, new world out there...

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Strangelove Lite; its fear of the computer revolution now seems charmingly quaint.

comment Comment
01/12/03
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
 
 
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Latest News for WarGames

February 18, 2009: DiCaprio to Produce WarGames Remake? Opens in new window
Perhaps looking to erase memories of last year's direct-to-video sequel, Leonardo DiCaprio is interested in producing a "WarGames" remake. More...

July 21, 2008: WarGames Throws 25th Birthday Bash Opens in new window
How about a game of chess? In anticipation of the release of a 25th-anniversary DVD, the 1983 hit WarGames will be returning to select theaters for an (extremely) limited run. More...

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