IS IT A GAME, OR IS IT REAL?
Teenage computer whiz David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) finds a way of connecting with a super-sophisticated computer at the Pentagon and starts playing a war game that turns out to be real. Director John Badham made two tech thrillers in 1983; Blue Thunder, and this teen favorite that combined Cold War paranoia with a vision of computers running amok and starting wars on their own. Amusing as a document of its time, even though several characters are a bit too stupid to be believed and NORAD looks like a Bond villain’s lair. Broderick and Ally Sheedy are engaging as the kids.
1983-U.S. 110 min. Color. Directed byĀ John Badham. Screenplay: Walter F. Parkes, Lawrence Lasker. Cast: Matthew Broderick (David Lightman), Dabney Coleman (John McKittrick), John Wood (Stephen Falken), Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin, Juanin Clay… Michael Madsen, John Spencer.
Trivia: Martin Brest was replaced as director. Followed by a direct-to-DVD sequel, WarGames: The Dead Code (2008).
BAFTA: Best Sound.
