Released in 1983, WarGames was a movie that I loved as a kid. Computer hacking was seen as a cool and super advanced thing during this time and add to this the threat of a USA vs Soviet Union nuclear war and you have the makings for one hell of a fun thriller. This was an early and career launching role for Matthew Broderick that would see him to go on to many big projects, most notably Ferris Bueler’s Day Off but also in the more recent No Hard Feelings.
How to Download WarGames
WarGames was released on June 3, 1983. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
Nostalgic Memories of WarGames
I remember watching this on VHS a lot as a kid, so much that when we were out shopping and I saw that there was a WarGames video game for our old ass computer, I had to have it. Well, the WarGames video game that I got was basically a strategy game, just like the movie, and at eight years old, I could not figure it out at all. My dreams of becoming a computer hacker died the day I could not figure out the WarGames video game!
A Story of AI, Hacking, and Nuclear War
The plot of the movie is so 80s and I just love it. The US military has been running different world war simulations and realizes that when push comes to shove, none of the people will press the button to fire off the nukes! Hey, this makes sense, but the general is not happy and decides that the person with their hand on the nuke button should not be a person, but an AI….. how fitting is this in 2025?
WOPR: The AI That Almost Ends the World
There is an advanced military AI system that is called WOPR which they call Whopper which when I watched this again recently just made me think of a Burger King Whopper. Anyway, WOPR keeps running war simulations to learn what the best form of attack is against a potential Soviet nuclear strike. Who would have thought that giving an AI the power to decide if there should be a nuclear strike (that is an awesome video game by the way) would turn out to be a bad thing?
Matthew Broderick as David Lightman – The Accidental Hacker
The other part of this equation is teenager David Lightman who is played by Matthew Broderick. David is a computer whizz and uses his fancy computer and modem to do stuff like change he and his friend, Jennifer’s grades at school as well as play games online. While searching for a new game to play, David comes across a strange list of games that are all war themed, one of which is called Global Thermonuclear War.
David tries to get into the “game” but cannot, but he finds out about an elite hacker and that is how he gets in. Turns out that this is no game and that David is actually communicating with WOPR and they are running an actual war simulation! WOPR starts sending the data back to the US military who freak out and think that all of this is actually happening and that the Soviets are attacking the USA.
Can David Stop World War III?
The military is convinced that this is all real, I never really got this part, I mean it would be pretty obvious if there was an actual nuclear strike on US soil! However, the “wargames” continue and eventually, the military finds out about David and thinks that he is a spy working for the Soviet Union so they arrest him.
Thankfully, David is way smarter than the people at the US military and he realizes that with the help of the elite hacker, he may be able to stop a real nuclear war from happening.
WarGames: A Movie That Still Holds Up
It is funny that WarGames on the one hand is very dated and feels like a product of the 80s, but the reliance on an advanced AI is also very fitting for today. I think that this holds up really well and I had a lot of fun with it when I watched it again recently.
