Wargames

1983 • 112 minutes
4.5
779 reviews
94%
Tomatometer
PG
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

A 80's teenager, bored by traditional high school subjects like biology but fascinated by computers, accidentally taps into the Pentagon's top-secret computer...the USA's NORAD system. He starts what he innocently believes is a computer game called "Global Thermonuclear War," but the "game" is real. The Pentagon's best minds cannot shut down or reprogram the supercomputer that is readying a missile attack against the USSR, and thereby unleash Armageddon. The teen and his girlfriend attempt to aid the helpless Pentagon and, in a frantic race against a ticking "doomsday clock," try to persuade the computer to end the "game."
Rating
PG

Ratings and reviews

4.5
779 reviews
Nathan Sprinkle
May 6, 2022
My High School World History colleagues prefer to show Forrest Gump when they teach the Cold War, but this movie has more appeal for teenagers. More than that, though, it was well made and has enough depth to be analyzed. War Games shows how the culture was changing along with technology. In fact the scene where the seats are being removed and replaced with a little box with flashing lights could be shown in film classes as a use of symbolism to show cultural change. But for History classes it offers various avenues for discussing militarism, education, public policy, international relations, and even changes in family life. Thumbs up from a teacher!
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Dan Austin
August 31, 2018
Awesome computer science movie. I didn't much care for the recent sequel. Something about movie sequels, very few seem to do justice to the original. This was certainly no exception in my opinion, which I feel is actually quite sad. Perhaps, a much better one could have been made. I guess we'll never know. But getting back to the original...I LOVED IT!
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j dragoon
January 5, 2019
Saw this movie the other night for the first time. Very good cast of characters. Good story. Acting from the adult characters can be a bit over the top and just something I'd expect from a tv movie, but it's not too painful. The movie takes very intense and serious subject matter , and makes it watchable for the whole family. Wargames is a movie that gives you genuine thrills but also some lighthearted fun through out. A movie I wouldnt mind watching again.
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