WarGames details

WarGames
Formats: PG DVD, 12 Blu-ray
Starring: Ally Sheedy, John Wood, Barry Corbin, Dabney Coleman, Matthew Broderick, Matthew Broderick
Director: John Badham
Genres: Drama, Thriller
Studio: MGM ENTERTAINMENT
Collections: 100 Big Adventures
Name Discs
WarGames
PG Feature

DVD Information

Run time: 1 hour 48 minutes
Rental release: 24 Jul 2000
Main languages: English
Dubbed: German, French, Spanish, Italian
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
Hearing impaired subtitles: English, German
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Most helpful review WarGames

  • A classic film that stands the test of time

    Rated - 5.0 stars  
    By Rick Bruce from Glasgow, Scotland , 10 Sep 2004

    [Highly rated reviewer]

    I thought about renting this title as I remembered it from my childhood. So when the DVD arrived I expected to cringe at the scripting and acting but it was great!

    The computer hacker terms which meant nothing to me a kid were factual and having someone talking about hackers penetrating a firewall back in the early 80's is pretty impressive stuff.

    Well worth a rental!
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All reviews

(38)
  • SHALL WE PLAY A GAME?

    Rated - 5.0 stars  
    By MAVERICK (70 reviews) from Knottingley , 05 Jan 2013
    30 years, has it been that long? Nothing dates a film quite like a starring role for cutting edge computing technology. By all rights WarGames should be feeling its age. What keeps it remarkably fresh is an unpatronising approach to what is ostensibly a family friendly thriller, and a set of ideas that rightly presses all the right buttons. Three years before Ferris Bueller's Day Off, John Badham's film stars Matthew Broderick as a high school loner who hacks into the system to change his grades. Except he doesn't stop there, hacking into what he thinks is a videogames company, hoping to try out their latest titles. What he actually finds is a top secret military simulator, which feeds into a missile launch system and becomes real. While the audience is busy processing the moral issues, the drama is kept taut with a series of flashpoints that do justice to the weight of overhanging nuclear disaster. There's still plenty of time for Broderick to dash around with co star Ally Sheedy and look adorably mischievous, and therein lies the secret to the film's lasting success, an easy ability to combine teen adventure with meaningful commentary, finished off with a powerful metaphor that's simple enough for a machine to understand. Wargames is a rare thing, as back in the 80's when we lived on a knife edge with both sides having fingers poised on the button it was brave enough and smart enough to be a family movie that has not afraid the scare the hell out of the families. I loved this film as a teenager and recently my fifteen year old daughter has watched it and although the equipment has dated and there is probably more power in her mobile phone than used in the computers in the film she too was thrilled by it's energy and also fascinated by the nuclear shadow we once lived under. As a parent in today's times the 80's did seem so much more safer back then, as at least then we knew who our enemies were. See if you like..... Tron. H. A. L. Project X. Red Dawn. By Dawns Early Light. Threads. Short Circuit. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
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  • Kids' Games

    Rated - 3.0 stars  
    By insomniac (88 reviews) from Malvern , 30 Jun 2012
    I hadn't realised this was such an old film, and it felt very dated. I also hadn't realised it was aimed at kids, and so don't feel justified in criticising it too much. Entertaining but that's all. Watch Dr Strangelove instead.
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  • War Games

    Rated - 3.0 stars  
    By a customer from Birmingham , 02 Mar 2010
    Thoroughly entertaining will watch it over and over again
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  • Still good

    Rated - 3.0 stars  
    By a customer from Edinburgh , 26 May 2009
    This is still a good movie despite its age, and despite the hopelessly out of date computer technology depicted in it. I still felt panicky at the end, which is what a thriller-type movie is supposed to do. Of course, it plays on the Cold War paranoias, so it is definitely a product of its time, but worth watching anyway.
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  • Great film! Loved it!

    Rated - 3.0 stars  
    By Rackee (3 reviews) from Carshalton , 14 Apr 2009
    Great film! Was exactly what i expected of it!

    Was a bit shady in places, but a young Mr Broderick was still in top form. A great film to chill out to with a nice glass of wine and an enthusiastic mood!

    Recommend...
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