[net.movies] War Games is Science Fiction

bstempleton@watmath.UUCP (Brad Templeton) (06/27/83)

Lauren and others have said they don't like war games.

You went in expecting a realistic account of how a kid could control
NORAD's computers and almost start a war?

No, it's fiction, and it has a fair number of givens, but a lot fewer
than I expected.  On top of that, it's well made, fun, and full of
suspense.

I give it 4* out of 5

-- 
	Brad Templeton - Waterloo, Ont. (519) 886-7304

kek@mgweed.UUCP (06/28/83)

 
Hooray for Brad Templeton!
 
I think people on the net are taking this movie too seriously.  Maybe that
is just the nature of most hackers.  This movie was a message movie, but
it was also suspenseful and enjoyable.  
 
I went with my wife and another couple that have little knowledge about
computers in general and security precautions in particular.  I spent a
long time over coffee after the movie explaining why things couldn't
happen the way it was depicted in the movie and what computers can and
cannot do.  Everyone enjoyed the movie and were ready to see it again
so they could look for some of the inaccuracies that I pointed out.
I think that movies like this one gives us a chance to inform an uninformed
public about the world of computers because it raises their curiousity
and gives us a chance to 'set the record straight'.

Moral:  If you have non-technical friends that are looking for a good
	movie to see, TAKE them to see "Wargames".  You'll be surprised
	at the intelligent questions they can come up with.
 
				Kit Kimes
				Western Electric Co.
				Montgomery Works
				..!lime!we13!mgweed!kek

bob@unm-ivax.UUCP (06/29/83)

Am I the only person who throughly diskliked "Wargames"?  I thought it
was juvenile, boring, and predictable.

trb@floyd.UUCP (06/29/83)

Kit Kimes, in talking about War Games states that hackers seem to be
taking it too seriously and not enjoying it for what it is.  He then
goes on to detail how he and his wife and another couple went to see
the movie and then he says:

	"I spent a long time over coffee after the movie explaining why
	things couldn't happen the way it was depicted in the movie and
	what computers can and cannot do."

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a friendly neighborhood hacker to
set them straight.  I haven't seen any complaints that the hacker's
girlfriend wasn't pretty enough, or that the acting was wooden, or that
the plot was thin.  The majority of hackers' complaints stem from the
fact that War Games misrepresents computer and military technology and
instills unfound hostility and fear in ignorant viewers.

	Andy Tannenbaum   Bell Labs  Whippany, NJ   (201) 386-6491