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Amazon.co.uk Review
Cute but silly, this 1983 cautionary fantasy stars Matthew Broderick as a teenage computer genius who hacks into the Pentagon's defence system and sets World War III into motion. All the fun is in the film's set-up, as Broderick befriends Ally Sheedy and starts the international crisis by pretending while online to be the Soviet Union. After that, it's not hard to predict what's going to happen: government agents swoop in, but the story ends up in the "hands" of machines talking to one another. Thus we're stuck with flashing lights, etc. John Badham (Saturday Night Fever) directs in strict potboiler mode. Children still like this movie, though. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Special Features
4:3 Full Frame
1.85 Wide Screen
French\German\Italian\Spanish
English\German
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English\Dolby Digital Mono French German Italian Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dolby Digital Mono
Director And Writers Commentary
Original Theatrical Trailer
Trivia
Production Notes
Danish\Dutch\English\French\German\Italian\Norwegian\Portuguese\Spanish\Swedish
1.85 Wide Screen
French\German\Italian\Spanish
English\German
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English\Dolby Digital Mono French German Italian Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dolby Digital Mono
Director And Writers Commentary
Original Theatrical Trailer
Trivia
Production Notes
Danish\Dutch\English\French\German\Italian\Norwegian\Portuguese\Spanish\Swedish
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This movie is a classic, a must own for all the "computer people". It's the Nostradamus of computer movies. It talks about hacking at a time where the internet was science fiction and the average computer was half as powerfull as a Game Boy. It has some old school phreaking (tampering phone lines) in there as well but all information is just of historical value. All the things that you see in the movie is a common thing of todays computers, like speech, but when you watch this film have in mind that it was produced in 1983! It's also the movie that inspired programmers to write War Dialers (well known type of software among todays crackers used to find phone lines connected to computers). If you are not interested in classics and historical values but you want some computer action try something like "Hackers", "SWORDFISH" and "Antitrust". But if you are interested in classics also check "Tron".
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I have to disagree with the Amazon review:
"After that, it's not hard to predict what's going to happen: government agents swoop in, but the story ends up in the "hands" of machines talking to one another. Thus we're stuck with flashing lights, etc."
You have to remember this film was brought out during the cold war and the era of the ZX Spectrum. Square blobs on a screen were impressive enough, but the idea of playing out multi-screen global nuclear war was enough to blow any 13 year old's mind at the time. This was combined with the fact that the computer software in question was named after the programmer's dead son and played the same kind of games, tic-tac-toe, that a child would. So, the final scene is not just about flashing lights, it's about a father teaching his son about life and the futility of war - and in so doing teaching every adult present in the US Army bunker the same lesson. This amounts to a very tense and touching finale.
"After that, it's not hard to predict what's going to happen: government agents swoop in, but the story ends up in the "hands" of machines talking to one another. Thus we're stuck with flashing lights, etc."
You have to remember this film was brought out during the cold war and the era of the ZX Spectrum. Square blobs on a screen were impressive enough, but the idea of playing out multi-screen global nuclear war was enough to blow any 13 year old's mind at the time. This was combined with the fact that the computer software in question was named after the programmer's dead son and played the same kind of games, tic-tac-toe, that a child would. So, the final scene is not just about flashing lights, it's about a father teaching his son about life and the futility of war - and in so doing teaching every adult present in the US Army bunker the same lesson. This amounts to a very tense and touching finale.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
War Games now seems extremely dated and this aspect gives the movie a strong element of nostalgia. These were the days when there was no Windows operating system, school kids played space invaders and East and West were only a technical mistake away from launching World War 3. Subsequent evidence has shown that there were actually a few occasions when mistakes almost did unleash nuclear war - such as the time when a bear scaled a fence at a US airbase during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the wrong alarm was triggered. This constant fear was also captured in Nena's pop hit from 1984 called "99 Red Balloons".
As for the film, it's watchable and would definitely appeal more to youngsters (perhaps 8-12 years old). Subsequently, this makes the coarse language seem out of place and rather unnecessary. Despite the serious subject matter, this is an adventure tale from a time when the world was perhaps a much more straightforward place. Interfering with US military equipment would now lead to much more serious consequences. Even the ill-fated PanAm airline is mentioned in the movie (again, before it went under after the Lockerbie bombing).
Despite the dated feel some of the plot remains relevant in the modern era - such as artificial intelligence and, of course, nuclear weaponry (thousands of these missiles remain in service). A number of movies have been based around wayward technology (such as Terminator 2, Westworld etc) and a deep-rooted fear of science is still evident in society (e.g. in genetics). So, overall, this is an amusing 108 minutes, but not any kind of classic (it isn't trying to be).
The main extra is a commentary by the director and writers.
As for the film, it's watchable and would definitely appeal more to youngsters (perhaps 8-12 years old). Subsequently, this makes the coarse language seem out of place and rather unnecessary. Despite the serious subject matter, this is an adventure tale from a time when the world was perhaps a much more straightforward place. Interfering with US military equipment would now lead to much more serious consequences. Even the ill-fated PanAm airline is mentioned in the movie (again, before it went under after the Lockerbie bombing).
Despite the dated feel some of the plot remains relevant in the modern era - such as artificial intelligence and, of course, nuclear weaponry (thousands of these missiles remain in service). A number of movies have been based around wayward technology (such as Terminator 2, Westworld etc) and a deep-rooted fear of science is still evident in society (e.g. in genetics). So, overall, this is an amusing 108 minutes, but not any kind of classic (it isn't trying to be).
The main extra is a commentary by the director and writers.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A BIT OF NOSTALGIA
STILL AN ENJOYABLE FILM TO WATCH FROM THE EIGHTIES.I REMEMBER WAITING FOR THE FILM TO BE RELEASED ON TV AS I MISSED IT AT THE CINEMA.WORTH WATCHING AGAIN.
Published 6 months ago by MGBMAN
teaching resource
A lot of swearing (S word) for a PG. I got it to show to a year 8 class and had to show tiny clips of it to miss the swearing.
Published 11 months ago by IT
NOT Anamorphic!! A great movie though.
The 2001 MGM Home Entertainment issue for Region 2 is not anamorphic, so you will get a letterboxed display if viewing on a widescreen TV. Even the 2008 UK release is the same! Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2010 by EasyGoer2
Wargames reviewed
I remember the day my father took me to the cinema to see this movie. Several months before going to see it I was very fortunate to have been bought a Commodore 64 computer (ask... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2009 by Mr. K. P. Burke
Brilliant. Being so dated only loses one star!
If you're at all IT savvy, then you will find the computer elements to this tech adventure film interesting, quaint or simply laughable.
However, the story is good. Read more
However, the story is good. Read more
Published on 14 April 2009 by Mr. A. M. HOGG
The absurdity of war
Remember Ronald Reagan, the actor-president, the acting president, the president-actor, we will never know. Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2008 by Jacques COULARDEAU
One of the most memorable films of the 80s
Looking back on my formative years, several theatrical releases stand out above all others, films such as the Star Wars trilogy (of course), E.T., Grease, and - yes - Wargames. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2008 by Daniel Jolley
NEARLY WW3
Computer geek, Mathew Broderick (aged 7) accesses a top US military program and converses with a super computer, tasked with the nuclear defence of the USA. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2007 by Nevs
Broderick generates laughs in average action drama
Intelligent teenager David (Broderick) stumbles across a computer programme that challenges him to a war game, only the actions carried out are happening in real life. Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2006 by Stampy
A bit average
War Games is a film starring a very young Matthew Broderick as a computer geek in the early '80's when computers were not the every day item that we see today. Read more
Published on 19 May 2006 by Ms. B. Williams
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