Back when I was a wee young lad kid, playing games loaded from an audio cassette on my Commodore 64, Wargames was a genuinely frightening film. Living in Seattle, just a stones throw from two major military bases and Boeing, the cold war was very hot in my young mind. Of course with the dawn of the computer age upon us, such strange voodoo like starting world war III with a wrong phone call seemed fantastic and strangely plausible at the same time. Of course since then the Cold War has ended, computer hacking is way more commonplace, and the computer hardware has become vastly more sophisticated - so Wargames is a bit dated to modern eyes. Thing is - it's still a pretty effective flick, and is still way better than most newer action films.

The movie opens in a military base in Alaska, with a team of replacement solders coming on shift in a nuclear missile silo. They go on about everyday stuff from life and love and really good weed until the Red Alert comes down from on high - the United States is at war, and it's time to drop The Big One on those evil Russian bastards! But when it comes time to actually turn the key, one of the soldiers balks and refuses, even at gunpoint. As it turns out, this was just a drill - but not an uncommon trend. 22 percent of The Buttons remained un-pushed when the order came down, prompting the government to put all of the missiles under control of the WPOR, a super computer that's been studying world war III in all it's permeations, looking for a way to win.

This, of course, is a bad idea. These sort of things NEVER work out.

Anyway, meet David Lightman (Matthew "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?" Broderick), a typical slacker genius teenager nerd flunking biology and getting into plenty of trouble with the high school staff. But since he can hack into the school computers and change his grades, everything is a-ok! His online activities aren't limited to academic fraud - while showing off to a new girl from school (which proves that this movie is a total fantasy - no nerd could ever hope to have Ally Sheedy as a girlfriend), he hacks what he thinks is a video-game company with the greatest up-and-coming releases, and accidentally sets off the WOPR war simulator deep inside NORAD instead.

The next day, David overhears evening news and realizes the scope of what he's done, how the human race came within seconds of extermination by simulated nuclear fire. Thinking he's working for the Commies, the Men in Black swoop down on David and take him to NORAD - where he relizes that the WOPR is still playing the war game. Since the military wont listen and the designer of the WOPR has gone missing, David and Jennifer find themselves in a race against the clock for nuclear Armageddon as they try and stop world war III.

Yeah, it's a pretty simple story - but it's surprisingly effective. Directed by John Badman (who did the wonderfully cheesy Blue Thunder), Wargames is a film from another era - and while nuclear paranoia doesn’t run rampant these days and the Cold War is a distant memory, the issues of teenagers rebelling against the adults, problems of internet security and overbearing authoritarian arrogance still make the film resonate. Plus, it's just an effective, well made film.

I have to give mad props to both Broderick and Sheedy. Despite being both their big screen debuts are surprisingly good for their lack of experience. You can see the beginnings of Broderick's future nebbish mischievousness rolls here, with just a hint of the smart-alec Ferris added in for good measure. Sheedy has a harder mountain to climb, since Jennifer is mostly used in the "What is it, Doctor?" exposition roll. But despite her entire purpose in life as a merely device for Broderick to explain story points so the audience doesn't get lost, she manages to carry herself well. Then when you add in the impressive crew of supporting actors, including Dabney Coleman playing the head of NORAD and Barry Corbin as one of the most memorable generals on film, you get solid bedrock of acting for the film.

The other thing the film has going for it is director John Badham (who took over from Martin Brest, who was canned shortly after shooting began). He's got a good sense of pacing, allowing the film to breath as necessary, and allowing moments of tension to build up - the opening scene, which aside from setting up the premise has very little to do with the rest of the movie, is a really gripping piece and sets the tone for the movie wonderfully.

And then there's the computers. I'm certain that most people these days will get a huge laugh at the floppy disks the size of your head and a cradle modem you have to put the phone receiver into - but you'd be hard pressed to find someone of my generation that doesn’t remember WOPR's iconic robot-like voice. Taking such innocent dialogue and making it sound so alien and threatening makes it strikingly frightening. And then add in that the film is set in a pre-Starbucks, pre-Microsoft Seattle, and the movie really made me anxious about the cold war as a kid.

THE DVD -
There are two editions of Wargames on disc, non-anamorphic transfer from 1999 and a more recent edition. Mine, the older edition, looks pretty good for a film made back in 1983. The colors are a touch faded, but that's just an artifact of the film making process of the era. The audio is a Dolby 5.1 mix, but there's not a lot of surround sound or subwoofer action since Wargames is mostly a drama.

THE EXTRAS -
We only get a couple of extras on the older edition - an audio commentary with the director and the two writers covering the background of the movie, discussion where the script was changed and all manner of trivia and production dirt. It's an engaging entertaining and informative track to be sure. The only other thing on the disc is the trailer.

The new edition apparently comes with new interviews with the cast, a tour of NORAD (which, much like fort Knox in Goldfinger, if the real NORAD doesn't look like the set, it SHOULD) and a couple of other contextual documentaries. Honestly if you're getting this flick, shun the old edition and get the sexy new one.

THE BOTTOM LINE -
While not as dramatic as other Mid-Life Crisis flicks of earlier generations, dealing with death, Vietnam or the like, Wargames certainly rings true for any child of the eighties, especially if you were playing with computers (or lived in Seattle) at the time. Even though it may not stand up as well for those viewers without a shared cultural context, Wargames is intelligent enough and made well enough that it still works even though the world around it has changed.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12