WarGames: The Dead Code Review
Posted by A.J. Stevens on 07.20.2008
How well does this movie stack up against the 1980's classic?
WarGames: The Dead Code
Starring Matt Lanter, Amanda Walsh, Colm Feore, and Chuck Shamata
Directed by Stuart Gillard
Running Time: Approximately 1:45
Rating: PG-13 for excessive use of the S-word
RIPLEY... Believe It Or Not
WarGames: The Dead Code is neither a sequel to nor a reimagining of the Matthew Broderick/Ally Sheedy 1980's classic. It is best classified as a hybrid of the two, featuring a plot and story structure similar enough to the first one to be politely called an homage, while containing enough characters and storyline to be called a sequel.
Director Stuart Gillard freely admits that WG:TDC is influenced by movies such as Fail Safe, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and of course the original WarGames. However, WG:TDC is none of these movies, and one would be better served watching any of the aforementioned classic films than spending 1:45 watching this movie. The plot and story seem to have been thrown together, while the foreshadowing and "twists" (read: "the writers were out of ideas") in the story are obvious and can be spotted a mile away. WG:TDC comes off as a project by a recent film school graduate rather than a serious attempt at a sequel. Aside from the obvious faults in the plot and the script, perhaps the director was hampered by the short, 3-week shooting schedule and the budget that forced the usage of stock footage and questionable locations in some sequences.
Another fault of the film is that the characters are not only caricatures of people, they are also not very likable. Protagonist Will Farmer (whose name I had to look up not less than 2 hours after seeing the movie), for example, is meant to come off as an innocent kid (per the director's commentary), yet he will take money from his neighbor's online banking account to wager on a gambling website. Will's biochemist mother keeps samples from her job at home underneath the kitchen sink because they're "her" creations and she wants to keep them away from the boss. The head of the government agency involved is narcissistic and arrogant. Will's friend is completely unsavoury, with little in the way of morals or principles. Incidentally, the character of Will's friend was written into the film; it would be interesting to see just how bad Will would have come off if he wound up instigating some of the stuff that his friend gets him into. Also, I found it telling that 20:00 into the movie, I still did not care at all about any of the characters, nor did I know their names.
Speaking of character names, the government defense computer (obligatory because this is a WarGames movie) is named "RIPLEY." It's spelled out prominently in the movie as "R.I.P.L.E.Y.," although we're never given any clue as to what that might stand for. We are told that it's "Ripley, like in the Matt Damon movie," but honestly, an assertive female character named "Ripley" (who is neither "talented" nor "Mister," for the record) is named after Sigourney Weaver, not Matt Damon (a quasi-homosexual identity thief, in this case). This bit of inexplicable nonsense brings the number of Matt Damon references in the movie to two, three if you stretch.
Actor Nicolas Wright ("Dennis Nichols") reacts after reading the latest version of the script.And yes, this is supposed to be a teen’s bedroom.
This movie features high school-age gamers/hackers. Watch for the following stereotypes (feel free to adapt this list to bingo to make the movie more entertaining):
Basement bedroom with computers and other electronic equipment everywhere
Chess club
Trading stolen credit card numbers for access to a secret P2P network
A SEXXXY online gaming site
World of Warcraft
Phrases like, "I'm gonna buy a 72 inch plasma TV for my room!"
As far as the features go, the director's commentary, featuring Matt Lanter (Farmer), is insipid, shallow, and not revealing whatsoever. The director points out some of the homages present in the movie, but they are so obvious that they were easily spotted the first time I viewed it. There are also a few references to "this stuff is really happening" and "what's really happening is scarier than what's in the movie" whenever the Big Brother-type stuff pops up, which I could have done without. I also could have done without the blunt, ham-handed political jab (which the director stated that he couldn't resist putting in). The "Making of..." video ran about 15 minutes and featured this gem from the producer: "We had an excellent script... and a director." Well, he's halfway right..
I should probably include some positive points about the movie to justify giving it a score higher than zero, so here we go: the French-language joke was funny and authentic, reflecting my experiences as a high school student traveling in Montréal. While we're on that note, the French and Russian cursing/name-calling is also correct. The Pringles product placement is very tasteful.
The 411: WarGames: The Dead Code will leave you disappointed, especially if you are a fan of the first WarGames movie. This is a poor attempt at a franchise and will be banished to the bargain bins in no time. Don't waste your time with this one: I sat through this movie -- twice -- so you won't have to.
