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| Monday, December 1st
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| Movie Forums :: User Reviews :: WarGames |
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Posted on 7/24/08
WarGames
NOTE: this review was originally posted on our movie forums. Click here to see it in its original context: WarGames.
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| Rating... |
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WarGames
This eighties film about technology is now purely an entertaining film to watch without, likely, any of the punch that it originally had because of the progression of technology. When it came out, this film was clearly meant to be seen as a warning when people looked at the Cold War and technology as compared to the human condition. Now, because technology has progressed differently, this film doesn't have as much of a punch to it.
The story is a pretty simple one, it is based off of the idea of the human condition, the ability to make decisions based on compassion, hope, and other human conditions as compared to the idea of the machine which sees everything as black and white. What sets off a potential world war three is a young computer nerd who triggers a game on a computer which just happens to be called "World Wide Thermonuclear War" or something along that line. He then has to convince the government that it wasn't intentional and try to figure out how to get the computer to stop playing the game. It seems a little hoakie now because of the technology and what it can do, but it was a pretty classic 80's and 70's look at future technology and a pretty standard warning about it.
I've heard complaints on it because of the fact that the technology doesn't hold up to current technology, which could be a valid excuse if it wasn't for the fact that current technology will barely hold up six months from now. When people judge a film on that, it seems like they aren't really paying attention to anything else going on in the film. And while this film isn't extremely profound in current society (it still can be seen as a valid warning), it does have some endearing elements to it. The technology shouldn't be the focus, as the director clearly wanted to focus on the human element and how humans think and work in comparison to the machine.
The acting in the film is decent. Matthew Broderick is decent in the lead role, and the supporting cast is generally what carries the film. None of the roles are extremely strong, but they all come off as entertaining and interesting characters, which is important for the film. It is really much more about the idea behind the film then the acting, but the actors do a solid job of getting the idea across, event without the performances being great, as the story does have some strength on its own.
Overall this is a film that needs to be enjoyed now on a simpler level then what people would look at it before. You can't read into the technology and ponder how unrealistic it is, otherwise you miss the entertainment value of the film, and the still valid message of the human condition and human emotions and how critical they are when reacting to any situation, even if it isn't starting World War III.
Overall Grade: B 
Story: B+
Acting: C+
Audio/Visual: B
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