WarGames    

By Tom Keogh

Cute but silly, this 1983 cautionary fantasy stars Matthew Broderick as a teenage computer genius who hacks into the Pentagon's defense 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. Kids still like this movie, though. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, theatrical trailer, Dolby sound, director commentary, optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.

Academy Awards

WarGames received Academy Award nominations for Writing (Best Screenplay written directly for the screen; Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes), for Cinematography (William A. Fraker), and for Sound (Michael J. Kohut, Carlos DeLarios, Aaron Rochin, Willie D. Burton).

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