Enjoy unlimited streaming on Prime Video
Thousands of other titles available to watch instantly.
7.1/10
81,348
160 user 75 critic

WarGames (1983)

PG | | Sci-Fi, Thriller | 3 June 1983 (USA)
A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.

Director:

John Badham
Reviews
Popularity
959 ( 1,688)

On Disc

at Amazon

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 11 nominations. See more awards »

Photos

Learn more

More Like This 

TRON (1982)
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A computer hacker is abducted into the digital world and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program.

Director: Steven Lisberger
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner
Innerspace (1987)
Action | Adventure | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

A hapless store clerk must foil criminals to save the life of the man who, miniaturized in a secret experiment, was accidentally injected into him.

Director: Joe Dante
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Video game expert Alex Rogan finds himself transported to another planet after conquering The Last Starfighter video game only to find out it was just a test. He was recruited to join the team of best starfighters to defend their world from the attack.

Director: Nick Castle
Stars: Lance Guest, Robert Preston, Kay E. Kuter
Cocoon (1985)
Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

When a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor.

Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn
Ladyhawke (1985)
Adventure | Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Philipe Gastone, a thief, escapes from the dungeon at Aquila, sparking a manhunt. He is nearly captured when Captain Navarre befriends him. Navarre has been hunted by the Bishop's men for ... See full summary »

Director: Richard Donner
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer
Enemy Mine (1985)
Action | Adventure | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

During a long space war, the lives of two wounded enemies becomes dependent on their ability to forgive and to trust.

Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr., Brion James
Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.5/10 X  

The United State's Department of Homeland Security is led to believe an American teen hacker playing a terrorist-attack simulator game online is a real terrorist out to destroy the U.S.

Director: Stuart Gillard
Stars: Matt Lanter, Amanda Walsh, Colm Feore
Flash Gordon (1980)
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.

Director: Mike Hodges
Stars: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow
Krull (1983)
Action | Adventure | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

A prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet.

Director: Peter Yates
Stars: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Broderick ... David
Dabney Coleman ... McKittrick
John Wood ... Falken
Ally Sheedy ... Jennifer
Barry Corbin ... General Beringer
Juanin Clay ... Pat Healy
Kent Williams ... Cabot
Dennis Lipscomb ... Watson
Joe Dorsey ... Conley
Irving Metzman Irving Metzman ... Richter
Michael Ensign ... Beringer's Aide
William Bogert ... Mr. Lightman
Susan Davis Susan Davis ... Mrs. Lightman
James Tolkan ... Wigan
David Clover David Clover ... Stockman
Edit

Storyline

A young computer whiz kid accidentally connects into a top secret super-computer which has complete control over the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It challenges him to a game between America and Russia, and he innocently starts the countdown to World War 3. Can he convince the computer he wanted to play a game and not the real thing ? Written by Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Shall we Play! See more »

Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 1983 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

The Genius See more »

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA See more »

Edit

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,227,804, 5 June 1983, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$79,568,000
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)| Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

First cinematic reference to a "firewall" - a security measure used in computer networking and Internet security. See more »

Goofs

When McKittrick is typing in his password to try to get into the computer to stop the missile launch, the computer rejects it by saying "Identification Not Recognized". However, when Professor Falken tries to type in his password, the computer rejects it. Falken then says "They've taken out my password"; but the computer is shown saying "Improper Request." See more »

Quotes

Mr. Lightman: This corn is raw!
Mrs. Lightman: I know, isn't it wonderful? It's so crisp!
Mr. Lightman: Of course it's crisp! It's raw!
Mrs. Lightman: No, it's terrific. You can just taste the Vitamin A and E in here. It's great.
Mr. Lightman: Could we have pills and cook the corn?
See more »

Alternate Versions

In the premiere telecast version of the film, in the scene where the female airmen is counting down to Impact, there is more background music that plays than in the theatrical version and home video releases containing English language versions. However, the extra background music plays in foreign versions of the movie. Also, the extra BGM has not played in subsequent TV airings since that first telecast, as far as I am aware. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Watch Dogs (2014) See more »

Soundtracks

Video Fever
Performed by Arthur B. Rubinstein, Cynthia Morrow, Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli (as The Beepers)
Lyrics by Cynthia Morrow
Music by Arthur B. Rubinstein
Produced by Anthony Marinelli (uncredited)
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more »

User Reviews

 
Pleased with the film
6 February 2006 | by RebelMeSee all my reviews

If you want to see a film with the most real style of hacking, forget Swordfish, The Net and all these other films where "hackers" work in graphically superb programs and can hack government server in few seconds. Broderick, working in his text-only mode, using social-engineering and having good abilities handling primitive electric devices is nearest the real world's "hacking", at least in his period.

As thought that the film sometimes lacks tension, especially in the middle, it has its very strong moments. To be honest, I got most excited on the very beginning, I really loved it.

The performances are good, but I disliked and didn't believe the performance of the man, who should have played the wooden-head general. It seemed to be too overacted. He himself lowered my rating by one.

This film might not be so interesting for people, who aren't interested in computers, because, as I mentioned upper, the plot lacks some deeper crisis, but I thing that everyone else will like it, so if you match the upper criterion I can recommend you only one thing: Go and get it!


43 of 52 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 160 user reviews »

Contribute to This Page

Stream Popular Action and Adventure Titles With Prime Video

Explore popular action and adventure titles available to stream with Prime Video.

Start your free trial



Recently Viewed