Then, after the release of WarGames, many parents started to wonder whether or not their child was hacking into government files and heading down the path of espionage and ruin.
Matthew Broderick staras as David, a bright, but underachieving kid. His lack of motivation at school, along with his quick wit, often gets him meetings with the principal.
But he is fascinated with computers and that is where his mind really shines. While looking for a game company online, he stumbles across a military system that features war simulations. At first, he does not realize it is a military system, and plays “Global Thermo nuclear war.” He playing triggers the U.S. defense system to show a pending attack by the Soviets.
By the time he figures out what is happening, he has been picked up by the Feds, suspected of being an agent for the Russians.
David not only has to convince the military that the Russians are not attacking, but also get the computer to stop it’s planned response (the launching of dozens of missles).
Broderick does an excellent job here, offering up a certain level of mischieviousness yet not comintg across as a smart-ass. We see some of the magic that was made famous in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Loading WarGames runs about 45 minutes and has new interviews with the direct, writers and stars Broderick, Ally Sheedy, and Barry Corbin, as well as other crew members and film critics. This is a very enjoyable piece that goes into depth, giving us a look at some things that did not make the final cut as well as how the project changed over time. This piece goes beyond that of the normal fluff pieces that fill DVDs and gives real bang for the buck. I wish more featurettes were like this.