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TheFoywonder
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
833 Posts |
 Posted - 03/06/2008 : 10:09:48 PM
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Is there really an audience out there clamoring for a sequel to a 25-year old movie that in no way requires a sequel? I realize that's a rather redundant question these days considering name-only DVD sequelizations have become a prolific subgenre unto itself but I figured I'd ask anyway.
John Badham's 1983 WARGAMES starred a young Matthew Broderick as a computer nerd who thinks he's playing a video game called Global Thermonuclear Warfare unaware it's actually a Defense Department program that could very well set-off World War 3.
The terribly titled WARGAMES: THE DEAD CODE follows the same formula but with a modern twist. A teenage computer hacker begins playing an online game that simulates a terrorist attack on America unaware that the program was created by the Department of Homeland Security to find potential terrorists. Suddenly labeled as a threat to the safety of the United States, the teen must evade government agents and make things right.
I've actually read online that the movie’s screenplay is pretty good. You'll have to pardon my skepticism given both the dubious track record of these name-only sequels and the fact that WARGAMES 2’s writer, director, and star are all responsible for the upcoming THE CUTTING EDGE 3 and I just have a really hard time believing that DVD sequel is going to be a winner either.
MGM/UA will release WARGAMES: THE DEAD CODE to DVD on June 10th. It is my sincere hope that this one ends with the hacker defeating the computer with a marathon session of Sudoku.
Now Playing in Foyeurism at Foywonder.com: PILOT ERROR - An American Mad Mad, Andy Kaufman as a wacky robot butler, and combat hockey: a triple threat of futurisitic failed TV pilots
Plus: B-WARE THE BLOG is alive at http://www.livejournal.com/users/foywonder |
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Citizen Carrier
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
322 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2008 : 11:22:31 PM
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Nah, it won't go down like that.
Remember the "messsage" of the first one was that global nuclear war was something nobody could win.
Will there be some kind of similar message here? Some kind of kumbiyah, gather on a hillside, hold hands and sing about buying the world a Coke and living in perfect harmony moment when the computer learns that standing up to terrorism is a losing proposition for all parties involved and that we must find and enlightened third way?
With a bunch of extras in Air Force uniforms applauding the teenager the moment the computer realizes this and becomes a friendly, folksy entity interested only in playing games? Hooray for tolerance!
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 05:36:54 AM
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| I smells a review on this site for this baby, I does. |
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gangrene
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
60 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 06:35:38 AM
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| My understanding is that sequels to Tron and the Last Starfighter are also potentially in the works. |
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TimLehnerer
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 10:42:18 AM
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I'm not sure how you could update WarGames to the age of asymmetrical terrorist strikes; half the point of the first one was that the guys in the bunker didn't have any firsthand information about what was or was not going on outside. If the TerrorSim 5000 winds up having guys with Stinger missiles swatting planes out of the sky by the dozens, all the military has to do is turn on CNN and see that it isn't happening.
If I were in charge of doing this, I'd use the entire theme of old technology versus new ways of doing things and have terrorists (either American home-grown militia types or Al Qaeda) figure out a way to retrigger WOPR's specific code error and trying to erase Saudi Arabia from the map and the American authorities trying to stop it. Instead of global thermonuclear war it'd be a limited, tactical strike meant to destroy one country as a way to create an eternal jihad against the West.
And no hand-holding ending either. The Americans stop it and never inform the house of Saud how close they came to being feudal lords over a smoking glass crater because of the political and economic ramifications of letting them know what happened.
Of course, that involves putting some thought into how you'd update a "rogue semi-sentient AI" nuclear paranoia film for the post-Cold War era... |
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CDiehl
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
361 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 11:32:43 AM
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quote:
A teenage computer hacker begins playing an online game that simulates a terrorist attack on America unaware that the program was created by the Department of Homeland Security to find potential terrorists.
I don't understand how playing this game identifies one as a terrorist. If it were used to locate potential counterterrorist personnel, it would dovetail with that Last Starfighter sequel. That could be an interesting movie, in which a government agency trains people to use the methods of terrorists to fight terrorism.
You know Grand Funk, don't you? The wild, shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner? The bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher? The ... adequate drumwork of Don Brewer? |
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Bobby-G
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
904 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 12:15:32 PM
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Sounds like a "This has name recognition ..." justification for a movie. However, this type of movie sounds more aimed at the younger audience (well, these days)than fans of the original, so maybe the words "war games" test through the roof, and they just HAD to use that title.
As for the "name recognition" thing, I'm sure we'll eventually see a sequel or remake of everything the public even slightly remembers (TENSPEED AND BROWNSHOE: THE GOLDEN YEARS starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson -- hmm, that might not be bad...)
Rob |
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Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 2:27:47 PM
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CDiehl voiced my objections, while TimLehnerer
writes beutifly of "what could have been".
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
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TimLehnerer
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 2:42:06 PM
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Colossus: The Forbin Project is one of my absolute favorite movies, and it's because the premise is carried out to its conclusion logically and fairly. WarGames does the same thing, but with a happy ending.
If you're going to do a rogue AI movie, you got two and only two decent examples of it. Ignore them at your peril. |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 3:03:53 PM
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Lots of Canadians attached. As a neighbor of mine pointed out, the Canadians have taken over.
But yes, the plot seems rather confused, at least from the descriptions.
- Si desea pulse 2 para español, encontrar un país diferente. - |
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TheFoywonder
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
833 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 3:37:00 PM
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Found this other plot synopsis a few minutes ago:
quote:
On a class trip to Europe Cory Carpenter, a teenage computer whiz, goes on the lam from the authorities, who have mistakenly pegged him as a cyber terrorist. While the technological infrastructure of the entire civilized world is apparently melting down, Cory, his beautiful classmate Anne Deville, and his nerdy best buddy Dale Darrow, manage to stay one step ahead of the authorities. However, Cory is later horrified to learn that his long time internet pal, Jay Forrell, is actually a government computer that has run amok and is about to hail nuclear disaster down on an unsuspecting planet.
Now Playing in Foyeurism at Foywonder.com: PILOT ERROR - An American Mad Mad, Andy Kaufman as a wacky robot butler, and combat hockey: a triple threat of futurisitic failed TV pilots
Plus: B-WARE THE BLOG is alive at http://www.livejournal.com/users/foywonder |
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Fox Cutter
Minister of the Sacraments of Jabootu
28 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 3:43:56 PM
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| Oh, so someone got their War Games/Terminator Fanfic made into a movie. Good for them. |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2008 : 4:02:27 PM
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Oh, well. That doesn't sound hackneyed, cliched and/or retarded at all.
:rolleyes:
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2008 : 2:20:05 PM
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Any bets on when this will show up on SciFi on Saturday night?
- Si desea pulse 2 para español, encontrar un país diferente. - |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 03/09/2008 : 12:28:05 PM
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Maybe we could help them out with a few creative suggestions of our own. (wink wink)
"On a class trip to Europe Cory Carpenter, a teenage computer whiz, goes on the lam from the authorities, who have mistakenly pegged him as a cyber terrorist. While the technological infrastructure of the entire civilized world is apparently melting down, Cory, his beautiful classmate Anne Deville, and his nerdy best buddy Dale Darrow, manage to stay one step ahead of the authorities. However, Cory is later horrified to learn that his long time internet pal, Jay Forrell, is actually a government computer that has run amok and is about to hail nuclear disaster down on an unsuspecting planet..."
To which I would add...
"Cory's only ally: J. Sandbourne, a rogue CIA insider with access to the Forrell master computer mainframe. However, what even Sandbourne doesn't know is..." |
Edited by - zombiewhacker on 03/11/2008 6:55:37 PM |
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Greenhornet
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1791 Posts |
Posted - 03/10/2008 : 3:54:33 PM
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...The one-armed man who killed Forrell's wife DIDN'T die in the explosion! He was saved at the last minute by....
"The Queen is testing poisons." CLEOPATRA, 1935 |
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