[attrition] Review: WarGames - 1983

[lyger]

http://attrition.org/~lyger/works/reviews/wargames.html

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WarGames was one of those movies that you probably haven't forgotten if 
you were a pre-teen or teenager in the early 80's. Even though WarGames is 
usually available somewhere on American cable TV, watching the original 
cut on DVD is definitely preferred. The opening sequence with Michael 
Madsen and the recently departed John Spencer sets the tone for a 
technological thriller set during the nuclear era of the Cold War. "Sir, 
we are at launch. Turn your key!"

David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) is a teenager with an interest in 
computers, specifically changing his school grades and playing games. 
While war-dialing, he stumbles upon a system he assumes to be hosted by a 
software company. Unknown to David as he runs a "game" called "Global 
Thermonuclear War", the system actually belongs to the United States 
Department of Defense and he has just launched a simulation that threatens 
to launch an actual nuclear attack. Along with his friend Jennifer (Ally 
Sheedy), David seeks out and finds the simulator's creator, Professor 
Falken (John Wood) in an attempt to stop what would be the beginning of 
World War III.

[...]