Having never watched WARGAMES, I feared that it would be one of those bloated, overrated, downright silly '80s movies, hardly deserving of its classic status. Well, it isn't. In fact, it turns out to be a great film, one that remains endlessly enjoyable despite the leaps and bounds that computer technology has made since this movie came out.

Matthew Broderick stars as the likable lead, a teenage computer genius who accidentally hacks into a NORAD computer and all but brings about nuclear war. Yes, this is a film in that '80s 'nuke' cycle, and it's one that brings the palm-sweating seriousness of the situation to life, while at the same time providing plenty of entertainment value along the way. Watching the narrative unfold is a delight, and it's one of those rare beasts that manages to keep the momentum going right up until the closing credits. Great fun indeed.

Young computer hacker David (Matthew Broderick) accesses a top secret supercomputer which controls US nuclear missiles. He sets out to play a game only to discover that it actually set in motion thermal nuclear war. He and new girlfriend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) must stop the march to nuclear warfare.

This is the granddaddy of computer hacking movies. For such an early computer movie, it's relatively reasonable. However the escape from NORAD detention seems way too easy. That and other simplifications could be overlooked. This remains the best of early computer hacking movies.

Broderick and Sheedy have an easy chemistry. They work well together as a teen couple. They were tops of the teen brat pack. Then they put a couple of veteran actors Dabney Coleman and Barry Corbin to anchor the other side. With the good acting and the realistic hacking, it is not only groundbreaking but a really fun watch.

In Seattle, the teenager David (Matthew Broderick) is a lazy but bright student that prefers to hack and change his grades in the high-school computer than study. One day, David's best friend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) is with him and he decides to hack the toy company Protovision seeking new games and he accidentally connects the War Operation Plan Response system in a computer located at the North American Aerospace (NORAD) at Birmingham using the password Joshua that was the name of the son of its creator, the deceased scientist Stephen Falken (John Wood).

David challenges the computer to play a Global Thermonuclear War game between USA and the Soviet Union. Sooner he realizes that the computer is playing for real and the United States of America is changing its condition to DEFCON 1 in a game with no winners.

"Wargames" is one of my favorite films of the 80's and despite the Cold War, it is nostalgic to watch again a period with little violence in the world and how life was easier, flying in a plane is just as one good example that we can see in this film. Hollywood still was able to make good movies based on great original stories. Matthew Broderick was an amazing promising actor with "Ladyhawke" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and the hacker David is ahead of time. Ally Sheedy shows her charm, lovely smile and a great chemistry with Broderick.

"Wargame" has a witty and funny story with a magnificent message in times of Cold War that is highlighted in the very end: "The Only Winning Move (in a nuclear war) Is not to Play". Fortunately most of the Powers that Be of the world has finally understood this message with the end of the Cold War. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Jogos de Guerra" ("War Games")