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WarGames (PG, 112mins) Directed by John Badham ****
Although not nearly as frightening as contemporary TV tales Threads and The Day After, Hollywood’s attempt to bring home the threat of nuclear war to the popcorn crowd still made a decent impact when it first hit cinemas in June 1983.
Propelling its young leads Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy to stardom, its worldwide gross was more than 10-times its US$12m budget and its screenplay, cinematographer William A. Fraker and sound team were nominated for Academy Awards.
And while it didn’t exactly soften America’s stance with regards to nuclear proliferation and the Cold War with Soviet Union, the storyline’s warning of the new threat posed by computer hackers to America’s defence system (as well the potential for corporate sabotage, espionage and general business disruption) inspired the US Congress to create the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act the following year.
But although the “cutting-edge” computer graphics will seem laughable to anyone under the age of 45 today, what still resonates while watching director John Badham’s thriller is the deep-dive into the debate about the development of Artificial Intelligence.
Remember, this was a time long before The Matrix and a full 16 months before Skynet entered the lexicon via James Cameron’s The Terminator. Back before the summer of ‘83, the biggest cyber-threat Hollywood had posed was Tron’s fantasy about a computer company’s power-hungry Master Control Program. WarGames’ scenario felt far more “real-world” – and unnerving.
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Although the “cutting-edge” computer graphics will seem laughable to anyone under the age of 45 today, what still resonates in director John Badham’s 1983 thriller WarGames is the deep-dive into the debate about the development of Artificial Intelligence.
It all begins with a surprise nuclear attack drill that delivers unpalatable results for America’s military leaders. Turns out, 22% of their staff failed to launch their missiles because they refused to turn their fail-safe keys without human confirmation that the USSR had indeed fired first.
Talk of ordering complete psychological evaluations enrages North American Aerospace Defence (Norad) Commando official Dr John McKittrick (Dabney Coleman), who instead convinces the top brass to look at “taking the men out of the loop” and completely automating the system. After all, Norad’s super-computer War Operation Plan Response (yes, Wopr, pronounced like the BK hamburger) is dedicated to running simulated “wars” and learning from the potential outcomes.
However, what McKitterick and his ilk haven’t counted on is a feckless teenager with time on his hands.
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Ally Sheedy, Matthew Broderick and John Wood star in WarGames.
Having already mastered the art of changing his grades by hacking into his school’s system via the phone lines, David Lightman (Broderick) now has bigger fish to fry. Hearing that his favourite games company Protovision is about to launch some new titles, he decides to try his luck by dialling every number in the area, in the hope that he’ll eventually connect with their mainframe.
After finding his way into Pan Am’s booking system and securing himself and classmate Jennifer Mack (Sheedy) two free tickets to Paris (and you thought the Blade Runner curse was the airline’s downfall!), David then stumbles onto an identified platform whose directories include backgammon, chess, poker, checkers and thermonuclear war. Convinced he’s struck paydirt, he engages with the computer and decides to give that last programme a spin.
What follows is a standard ‘80s teens-in-peril and up-against-the-authorities tale, but one which, despite a strange side-trip to an Oregon island, really does a great job of building up the tension towards a thrilling finale that even delivers a terrific sting in its tale (albeit nothing compared to what the similarly-themed Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines would audaciously unleash upon unsuspecting audiences 20 years later).
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Propelling its young leads Broderick and Sheedy to stardom, War Games’ worldwide gross was more than 10-times its US$12m budget and its screenplay, cinematographer William A. Fraker and sound team were nominated for Academy Awards.
All sass and slightly smug charm (although with a certain endearing vulnerability about him), watching Broderick in WarGames makes it easy to see why John Hughes sought him out to play Ferris Bueller, while Sheedy (The Breakfast Club, Short Circuit) does a good job with a mostly thankless role (one that also reminds viewers of a certain age how Jennifer was the go-to cinematic girlfriend name of the mid-’80s).
A movie that, had all gone to plan, could have starred either John Lennon or Dr Stephen Hawking in a key role, it offers this memorable and still timely advice: “General, you are listening to a machine. Do the world a favour and don’t act like one.”
WarGames is now available to stream on Prime Video.
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