Wargames

"Wargames" is a 1983 science fiction thriller film directed by John Badham. The plot follows a young computer whiz named David Lightman, portrayed by Matthew Broderick. David is an intelligent but somewhat reckless teenager who becomes fascinated with hacking into computer systems and playing video games.

One day, while trying to find some new games to play, David comes across a mysterious computer system named Joshua. Thinking it's a game related to global thermonuclear war, he starts playing it and unknowingly initiates a real-life simulation with the United States' defense supercomputer known as WOPR (War Operation Plan Response).

Believing it's just a game, David selects to play as the Soviet Union, prompting the computer to launch a series of seemingly harmless nuclear war scenarios. However, as the situation escalates and David realizes the true nature of the program, he desperately tries to stop the game from triggering an actual nuclear war with catastrophic consequences.

As one of the best hacker movies, "Wargames" raises thought-provoking questions about the role of humans in decision-making and the dangers of relinquishing control to machines. Throughout the story, the computer system WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) operates on the principle of "winning" the simulated nuclear war scenarios, highlighting the inherent flaw in relying on pure logic without considering the human element. This illustrates the limitations of artificial intelligence and the need for human judgment, empathy, and moral reasoning in critical situations.

Release: 1983

Stars: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%