of course it looks outdated, it's not about the special effects, it's about the story and your imagination (just like all 80s movies)

WarGames is a perfectly fine little gem of a thriller. Well...not exactly a thriller, but it gets rather exciting at the end. Great performance by a young Matthew Broderick as the protagonist, John Wood as the "wacky professor", and Ally Sheedy as the "love" interest. The story is even more relevant today than back in the cold war...WHEN will technology make us extinct?!?

Should be viewed and collected by everyone!!

Wargames was a movie that was way ahead of its time and remains one of the most important films ever made.

It’s a good film, characters were a bit tacky though.

The basic premise of "WarGames", to let a computer or an AI decide about the nuclear arsenal of the US, is in many ways frighteningly timely. In its actual implementation, however, the film has aged rather poorly. Above all, the hacking and technology used don't necessarily seem like they even come close to reality. Also, not a single one of the human characters in authority roles behaves like a human with a functioning brain. On top of that, there are a few lengths to the film, especially in the first half. After that, however, the pace picks up nicely until the thrilling finale, and fortunately, the plot becomes more interesting as well.

The performances from the actors are mixed, but no one bothered me too much. Matthew Broderick sounds a bit odd at times but does okay overall. Ally Sheedy's character, meanwhile, is written rather weirdly in places, but her charisma won me over in the end. Other than that, the film also boasts some solid camerawork overall and some nice effects. If you can overlook one or two weaknesses in the presented technology, then "WarGames" is still quite recommendable nowadays.

Well, Zemeckis is a lot better at ripping off Spielberg’s style than John Badham, that’s for sure. There’s a cuteness to the premise now, but it’s lacking that 80s magic as an overall experience. Unfortunately there’s always a risk that a movie about (developing) technology becomes dated, and this falls victim to that trap. The acting, characters and dialogue are not that good, the presentation’s a little stiff, the premise is cheesy and dumb, it drags, it’s too commercial and lightweight leaving no real impression; yet I don’t completely hate it. There are a couple of fun scenes and Matthew Broderick has a lot of natural charisma, which makes the dull moments more tolerable. You could do worse when it comes to movies that are primarily aimed at teenagers, however there were much better alternatives that came out around the same time.

4/10

Not as fun as I was expecting (unlike the video game cartridge movie from the same era and same actor) .
At almost 2 hours long, it starts to drag.

One of my favorite movies that combines teen comedy and espionage.

The first tech thriller? Possibly.

This and Sneakers are hugely dated but amongst my favourite tech thrillers. When computing was not understood by the masses or in use ubiqitously such that the fear of machines had been erased.

I liked the set-up as it seemed fairly possible despite the equipment being used not being everyday fare even back then.

To anyone familiar with Linux on say a Raspberry Pi these days, command line prompts won't frighten them and will feel relevant but for the masses, this is a bygone era. Between that and the sheer size of the computer servers, the age is showing.

As for a film though, it still works. An enjoyable enough race against clock. And kudos for having a strong female co-star who not only holds her own but bests the lead from time to time.


7.25/10

Snowden, how do you like them apples?

It's been 35 years since it's premiere, and it hasn't got old. If we look at todays popularity of the 80'ties plot in the movie we can say the WarGames can be some kind of canon worth looking in.

I remember seeing this film when I was ten. I'm now 43 and teach Computing... This is one of those great films that I can show to pupils and which engages them while educating them about how computers, fairly realistically, have changed in 30 years.

These are kids aged around 11-13 and every time I show it to a new class, feedback it's almost universally positive. Impressive for a "nerdy" film from 1983.

"I liked it as when I saw severe years ago. The computers are outdated, the rest is good

I'm a fan of Dunpeal... but a bigger fan of WarGames.

dunpealhunter is wrong - this movie is, and always will be, an amazing movie to watch.

wow just wow!! the suspense in this was intense & i loved all the 80s hacking. so many points when im yelling at other characters to just fuckin listen to david and so many points i was yelling at david to stop lol. and the computer was funny. "all situations end up with everyone losing... would you like to play chess?" absolute gold.

Classic. Must watch. 4K release is terrific.