High School student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Defense Department's war computer and initiates a confrontation of global proportions. Together with his girlfriend and a wizardly computer genius, David must race against time to outwit his opponent and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.
Nominated for 3 Oscars. 4 wins & 14 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
As a premise for a thriller, this is a masterstroke.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
fresh:
As tense and effective now as it was 25 years ago. The worry back then was more about Soviet missiles than about credit card identity theft, but good filmmaking techniques haven't changed.
– Michael Booth,
Denver Post,
14 Mar 2008
fresh:
John Badham solders the pieces into a terrifically exciting story charged by an irresistible idea: an extra-smart kid can get the world into a whole lot of trouble that it also takes the same extra-smart kid to rescue it from.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
26 Mar 2009
fresh:
To me, the most enjoyable aspect of WarGames is when David is at work on his computer system. There's something wonderfully nostalgic about watching a guy play with such antiquated machinery and recognize that it was [once] considered state-of-the-art.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
30 Apr 2009
fresh:
Classic humanist-didactic filmmaking, effectively presented as a thriller.