“Flirts outrageously with the sheer excitement of nuclear war…an exciting, giddily entertaining movie!” – David Denby, New York Magazine

Flickering CRT maps, screeching modems, ominous command prompts, a robotic computer voice asking, “Would you like to play a game?” WARGAMES is a trip back to the Cold War ’80s, when the threat of nuclear annihilation loomed over the world. Some of the tech may have changed, but the paranoia remains all too timely. A fresh-faced Matthew Broderick stars as computer whiz David Lightman, who inadvertently hacks his way into a NORAD supercomputer built to simulate nuclear war. What begins as mischievous curiosity quickly spirals into a national crisis when the military brass start to treat David’s shenanigans as a real international threat. Ally Sheedy co-stars as David’s on-again, off-again romantic partner and begrudging moral compass. Mixing teen-centered dramedy with heightened geopolitical stakes, WARGAMES anticipated the retro-chic allure of Stranger Things and remains a fun, gripping techno-thriller in its own right.

This screening is part of Arkadin’s May 2026 series, THE COMPUTER IS MY FRENEMY, featuring films that explore our collective love-hate relationship with the digital world. Does the internet truly bring us together or only tear us further apart? Find out this month!

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.