WarGames (Movie)

WarGames
Poster showing a teenage boy and girl staring at a computer monitor Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Badham
Written by	Lawrence Lasker Walter F. Parkes
Produced by	Leonard Goldberg
Cinematography	William A. Fraker
Edited by	Tom Rolf
Music by	Arthur B. Rubinstein
Production company	Sherwood Productions
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	June 3, 1983 (1983-06-03) (US)
Running time	114 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$12 million
Box office	$125.9 million

WarGames is a 1983 American science fiction techno-thriller film directed by John Badham and written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, Dabney Coleman, and Barry Corbin. It follows a teenage hacker who unwittingly accesses a United States military supercomputer programmed to predict and execute nuclear war scenarios. Believing he is playing a computer game, he nearly sets off a global thermonuclear conflict.

The film was a critical and commercial success, praised for its suspenseful plot, intelligent script, and relevant themes surrounding the ethics of artificial intelligence and Cold War-era fears of nuclear war. It was nominated for three Academy Awards and is widely considered a pioneering film in the hacker and cyber-thriller genre.

Plot

David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) is a bright but underachieving high school student and computer whiz in Seattle. While searching for unreleased computer games, he unintentionally hacks into a military supercomputer at NORAD called the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), which is programmed to simulate nuclear war scenarios.

Believing he is playing a game called *Global Thermonuclear War*, David chooses to play as the Soviet Union and launches a simulated attack on the United States. The WOPR, nicknamed "Joshua", begins running a real-world nuclear strategy simulation, which NORAD officials mistake for an actual Soviet first strike.

As military tensions rise, David and his friend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) must track down the computer's original creator, Professor Stephen Falken (John Wood), to convince NORAD that the threat is a simulation. In a climactic sequence, Joshua is made to play tic-tac-toe against itself, realizing that some games cannot be won. The system aborts the simulated nuclear strike, and global disaster is narrowly averted.

Cast

• Matthew Broderick as David Lightman
• Ally Sheedy as Jennifer Mack
• Dabney Coleman as Dr. John McKittrick
• John Wood as Dr. Stephen Falken
• Barry Corbin as General Jack Beringer
• Juanin Clay as Pat Healy
• Kent Williams as Cabot
• Dennis Lipscomb as Watson
• William Bogert and Susan Davis as David's parents

Production

The screenplay for *WarGames* was inspired by contemporary concerns about artificial intelligence, nuclear war, and the emerging field of computer hacking. Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes began work on the script in the early 1980s, originally envisioning a story about a teenage hacker meeting a dying scientist.

The role of David Lightman was originally offered to Eric Stoltz and later to John Lennon’s son Julian Lennon, before going to then-unknown Matthew Broderick. John Badham took over directing duties after Martin Brest was removed early in production.

Scenes set at NORAD were filmed on an elaborate $1 million set built at the Culver City Studios, as the real NORAD command center denied filming access. The WOPR supercomputer was a fictional creation, but modeled after then-real military command systems.

Reception

• WarGames* opened on June 3, 1983, and became a sleeper hit, grossing over $125 million worldwide against a $12 million budget. It was praised by critics for its tight pacing, accessible techno-thriller plot, and intelligent handling of Cold War tensions.

Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, calling it "one of the best films of 1983." The *New York Times* praised its "youthful energy and genuine suspense." The film currently holds a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film received three Academy Award nominations:

• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Cinematography
• Best Sound

It was also nominated for a Hugo Award and received a BAFTA nomination for Best Score.

Legacy

• WarGames* has had a lasting influence on popular culture, especially in the portrayal of hacking and artificial intelligence. It inspired interest in computer science among a generation of young viewers and helped shape cinematic depictions of technology.

In 1984, the film helped spark U.S. congressional hearings on cybersecurity, with lawmakers citing it as a plausible scenario. It also influenced the development of cybersecurity laws and awareness in the early days of personal computing.

The film's line "Shall we play a game?" and the character of Joshua became iconic in hacker culture.

Sequel and adaptations

A made-for-TV sequel, *WarGames: The Dead Code*, was released in 2008, featuring a new cast and storyline loosely connected to the original.

The film inspired several novelizations and a short-lived computer game adaptation in the 1980s. A musical stage adaptation and potential television reboot have been discussed but not materialized.

See also

• Cold War in popular culture
• Cybersecurity
• Artificial intelligence in fiction
• Nuclear warfare in fiction
• List of films about nuclear war and weapons
• Hackers (film)
• The Day After

External links

• WarGames at IMDb
• WarGames on Rotten Tomatoes
• Britannica – WarGames
• Carnegie Mellon: WarGames and Cybersecurity