WarGames
June 3, 1983 in theaters
A curious high school hacker named David Lightman breaks into what he thinks is a game company's computer and accidentally triggers a military AI called WOPR into simulating a Soviet nuclear attack -- bringing the United States and USSR to the brink of World War III. John Badham's 1983 Cold War thriller treats its teenage protagonist seriously and makes its doomsday-machine premise feel genuinely tense.
Cast
Director
TRAILER
QUOTE
"The only winning move is not to play."
DID YOU KNOW?
Matthew Broderick was 20 years old during filming -- the same year he would also appear in Max Dugan Returns.
THE VERDICT
Synthesized from published reviews
A prescient 1983 Cold War thriller that made a teenager accidentally triggering World War III feel genuinely plausible. John Badham keeps the tension coiled tight even as the premise escalates from clever to apocalyptic, and Matthew Broderick plays David Lightman with exactly the right mix of confidence and dawning horror. Few films have made the logic of mutually assured destruction feel this accessible -- or this frightening.
GALLERY
VIDEOS
