I really liked this movie when it was released and I remember watching it in the theater, however now that I can stream it and binge watch it over and over again I have found the plot is full of holes and there are plenty of technical goofs in the movie. Enough so that it is no longer a movie that I like to watch.It will be good enough for people who have not seen it as often as I have watched. It has drama, suspense, young love interests, humor and insight to the idea that war is a worthless endeavor. No one really wins even if you think you are the winner.The actors and the direction are acceptable and I'd wish it didn't have the spotty bad language through out the movie. It doesn't have any violence nor does it have any sex scenes, so you might find it acceptable for the younger members of your family.However that is where I end my favorable review. (spoilers)The entire movie hinges on the idea that this computer system takes over a game being played and then decides that it needs to launch real missiles in order to complete the game. While this idea is interesting the entire logic behind the system is stupid.I noted that the main characters talk about 'Joshua' who hasn't learned a lesson yet but it is implied that tic-tac-toe was one of the games it needed to play in order to learn that global thermonuclear war was a waste of time.Am I supposed to believe that no one on the team or Prof Falken let the computer run the tic tac toe game against itself previously? I find that a flaw because as a computer person I know I let the computer play against itself many, many times when I had the opportunity to let it do so. Games like chess, TTT or Colonial Conquest.I also find it ridiculous that the entire 'hacking' aspect of the movie is flawed and I'm assuming at this time in our society things were so new that the director didn't have many experts to rely on for facts. The movie is riddled with mistakes on networking and computer logic.The list goes on and on. It is really a terrible script.I can only give 1/10 stars now, but if you would have asked me twenty years ago I would have given 10/10 stars.

Great Cold War drama.A high school kid, David (played by Matthew Broderick), accidentally hacks the powerful computer that runs global thermonuclear war simulations for the US military, and which controls the US's nuclear weapons arsenal. It starts as a game but ends up deadly serious...Intriguing, exciting movie with a few funny moments along the way. Though not anywhere near as biting as Dr Strangelove in its demonstration of how Cold War paranoia and the nuclear arms race can go awry, it is a fairly chilling indicator of what could happen.Solid work from Matthew Broderick in the lead role, in only his second movie. Ally Sheedy is wonderful as Jennifer. Supporting cast are fine too.

A video game and computer enthusiast logs into what he thinks is a video game-and almost starts World War III! Hey, it could happen! While the film seems a bit "dated" (outdated computers, pay phones, cold war paranoia, etc.), it still has an impact. Matthew Broderick plays a high school kid who loves computers and discovers a program called "ThermoNuclear War," left by a computer legend, which he thinks is a video game. When he plays it, he soon learns that he has accidentally hacked into military computers and is soon picked up by the military and taken to a local base. "Complications" soon arise.This features good performances by Broderick, Ally Sheedy, and Dabney Coleman as a military man. I absolutely loved this movie! *** out of ****

John Badham directed this computer-gone-mad picture that stars Mathew Broderick as David, a rebellious teenager and computer whiz who likes to hack into his high school computer system to change his grades to an "A", or insult his science teacher. Things take a serious turn when he accidentally hacks into the Pentagon's computer that controls the missiles aimed at Russia. David and the computer think it is a game, but it turns out to be frighteningly real, as David finds himself targeted by the military, forcing him and his girlfriend Jennifer(played by Ally Sheedy) to go on the run... Entertaining film may have a most unlikely premise(one would hope!) but is well cast and directed. Dabney Coleman is quite good as David's chief "nemesis".