WarGames

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source: WarGames

If you want to see a film with the most real style of hacking, forget Swordfish, The Net and all these other films where "hackers" work in graphically superb programs and can hack government server in few seconds. Broderick, working in his text-only mode, using social-engineering and having good abilities handling primitive electric devices is nearest the real world's "hacking", at least in his period. As thought that the film sometimes lacks tension, especially in the middle, it has its very strong moments. To be honest, I got most excited on the very beginning, I really loved it. The performances are good, but I disliked and didn't believe the performance of the man, who should have played the wooden-head general. It seemed to be too overacted. He himself lowered my rating by one. This film might not be so interesting for people, who aren't interested in computers, because, as I mentioned upper, the plot lacks some deeper crisis, but I thing that everyone else will like it, so if you match the upper criterion I can recommend you only one thing: Go and get it!

Wargames was a movie that was way ahead of its time. No one was making films about hacking into computer systems. The only computers used in movies were on space ships. No home computer has ever really been brought to the big screen. Wargames broke from the normal studio sci fi norm of either Earth being visited by aliens (E.T) or battles of Good and Evil in space (Star Wars, Star Trek). With the raise in hacker crime rate now, and seeing how Dependant we've become on computers, Wargames was a movie with it the eye on the future. Imaginative story, great cast (who, despite other reviews, do not phone it in) Wargames is a true gem, as it was recently listed by AFI as one of the top 100 sci fi movies of all time. Broderick was perfect as a slacker teen, and Ally Sheedy turns in one of her best performance, making the most of an under developed character. Dabney Coleman showed why he was one of the busiest actors in the 1980's (though he always better cast as a villain), and Barry Corbin could play almost anything convincingly. while the special effects may be dated by todays standard, Wargames helped shape the way people think and speak. Backdoors, hacking, were not common terms like they are today. Without a doubt, much in agreement with AFI, Wargames remains one of the most important films ever made.

In the 1980's, the realisation that computers will soon play an extremely important role in everyday life was becoming more and more evident. This idea was treated with excitement, curiosity, and fear - people genuinely did not know how powerful they would become, but they were certainly fearful of it. Cinema explored this fear in successful films such as The Terminator (1984), which depicted a future where humans were locked into a battle with robots, and Tron (1982), in which a character is sucked into a game where he is forced to battle with the computer to survive. Never had the capabilities of computers been so realistically portrayed than in WarGames, a film that introduced the world to home computers, hacking, and how humanity can be replaced by machines (as well as the idea that nuclear destruction is still a threat). When two missile controllers fail to launch a missile during a test launch due to uncertainty, government bigwig McKittrick (Dabney Coleman) introduces his superiors to WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), a giant super-computer that repeatedly plays games with itself to generate stats and results of possible nuclear war outcomes. The operation is given the go-ahead, and workers find themselves replaced by this metallic super- brain, that will deal with any potential nuclear threat to the US. High school punk David (Matthew Broderick) is a highly intelligent computer- obsessive who uses his hacking skills to change his grades on his high school system. When he learns that a company is releasing new breakthrough games in California, he scans the area for computers in order to hack into their mainframe. He stumbles upon a computer that lists many strange war games, including 'Global Thermonuclear War'. He begins a game, choosing to be Russia, but unbeknownst to him, he is actually playing WOPR who is playing the game for real. Soon David is brought in by the FBI who suspect him of working with the Russians, while the threat of global nuclear destruction lingers as WOPR carries on playing the 'game'. I viewed this film quite often when I was a child as I owned the VHS, but admittedly the film went over my head somewhat and I found it quite boring. Watching it now, I was shocked to find out this is a very good film, and it makes for a gripping adult thriller, while maintaining that 1980's kids-film-feel. The technical aspects shown on screen are extremely well-researched, and David's hacking activities make for exciting and interesting viewing. It's also fascinating to see the early giant, clunky computers of the 1980's and an early portrayal of the Internet. Overall, this is a highly entertaining thriller that is well acted, scripted and filmed (and even received three Academy Award nominations), and has plenty of those nostalgic qualities for us children of the 80's. www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

For many people in the hacking community Wargames was the film that gave us the first insight into the magic of hacking. This film is so important that it gave the technique "wardialing" its name. Wargames has a perfect sript, stunning special effects and a great soundtrack. It will go down in history as a cinematic gem. Miss it at your peril.

Movies made for the here-and-now (instead of for all-time) date far worse than the average film, and movies dealing with modern-day technology are apt to look junk heap-worthy in just a few short years. The Tracy & Hepburn comedy "Desk Set" is one such example (where a know-it-all computer was brought in to an information office, taking up half the room). The scenario of "WarGames" centers on a boy's home computer, decked out with dashboard graphics, a black background, and a blinking cursor. It also has a stubborn agenda of its own, but this no "2001". There's a fresh angle to the screenplay: a goof-off high schooler (Matthew Broderick) manages to tap the Pentagon's computer system while playing a world-annihilation game from his bedroom, nearly causing World War III. He and his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy) have a devil-may-care relationship which makes the first-half of the picture breezy and appealing (and his semi-clueless parents are fun, too). But eventually, they--and we--have to be taught a lesson about the evils inherent in the misuse of technology, and the film comes to a virtual stand-still as a professor soap-boxes to the audience about such depressing matters as the end of civilization as we know it. Barry Corbin's salty U.S. General puts that into more succinct, layman's terms when he says, "I'd p*ss on a sparkplug if I thought it'd do any good." ** from ****

"War Games" is for the eighties, what "Colossis: The Forbin Project" was for the seventies, and "Fail Safe" in the sixties. A glitch in a computer security system allows a brilliant but erratic high school student to accidentally cause the military's war computer to begin a game which the military sees as real. Because of human errors in previous game scenarios, the human element was removed from the system and the computer given complete control. The mistakes begin to compound from there as the FBI decide that 16 year old David Lightman is a soviet agent. Meanwhile the command at NORAD is preparing for an inbound soviet missile attack that could come at any moment. Matthew Broderickis excellent in an all star cast including Dabney Coleman, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin and John Woods with direction by John Badham. An excellent film all round.

Watching this movie 25 years on, it still works. Obviously the onward march of technology has rendered several of the central plot devices redundant (although, to be honest, most modern techno-thriller entries are far less plausible) but the sheer tension of the story grabs you almost from the off and never lets go - there aren't many genre movies that got an Oscar-nomination for screenplay, which amply demonstrates its quality. And the last ten minutes or so are still jaw-dropping. That spectacular (if implausible) NORAD set is as astounding as ever, and the last line still deserves it's place in the pantheon. Laugh at the antiquated tech by all means, but be impressed by the effort taken to make it feel believable (cf. the sequence where Broderick's character gets the password for the school computer.) Hacker movies have rarely come this close to being real - and, as someone who had been there and done that at about that time, it was scarily right. In no way is this one of the greatest movies ever made. But there's no question that it achieves the rare quality of transcending it's genre.

"WarGames" is a surprisingly effective thriller, thanks to its highly original premise and Badham's literally flawless direction. Broderick's and Sheedy's winning performances also help. Fortunately, the movie doesn't contain too much technical "jargon": it is more interested in its clearly stated anti-war message, while at the same time it works as suspenseful entertainment. It may be a little far-fetched sometimes, but when that final moment arrives when the computer realizes that "the only winning move is not to play", be prepared to feel a genuine chill.