War Games The-dead code

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (July 29, 2008)

For a long-overdue sequel to 1983’s WarGames, we head to 2008’s direct-to-video WarGames: The Dead Code. The film introduces us to a sophisticated US defense system called RIPLEY. On the surface, it exists as a game site, but it keeps tabs on potential terrorists and nails them via remote attacks.
Teenager Will Farmer (Matt Lanter) possesses great computer skills and sometimes gets into trouble due to hacking. He stumbles onto the RIPLEY games and becomes a top-flight player in no time. That ain’t good, for RIPLEY targets the best gamers as probable terrorists, which turns Matt into a suspect. Matt struggles to clear his name and stay alive.
When I recently viewed the original WarGames, I was surprised to see how well it held up over the last 25 years. Sure, the technology dates it, but the premise remains realistic and the film provides a solid piece of dramatic entertainment.
Since the idea of threats from computer hacking has become even more believable and scary since 1983, WarGames boasted a premise well suited for an update. That meant Code had the potential to become something more than a cheap direct-to-video knockoff made long after its predecessor.

Unfortunately, Code lives down to those low expectations. Other than its name and computer connection, it bears little connection to its predecessor. That could’ve been good, as I wouldn’t want Code to simply remake WarGames, but the lack of real link to the first flick doesn’t work out in a positive way.
Indeed, other than as a brand name, it seems really tough to figure out why they bothered to call this a WarGames movie. Yes, it does throw out a clumsy connection between the two, but they don’t feel linked in an honest way. In reality, Code comes across more like a low-rent version of Enemy of the State instead of a sequel to WarGames. Code offers a pretty stiff and transparent thriller without much to make it stand out from the crowd.
Back in 1998, the super-surveillance theme of Enemy seemed chilling and clever, but 10 years later, it comes across as old hat. Perhaps if Code boasted the talented cast/crew and solid production values of Enemy, it could overcome the fact it feels like a tired retread of that flick.
But it doesn’t, especially in terms of the actors. Lanter leaves a hole at the center of the movie. Not only is he no Will Smith, but also he’s not even remotely as talented as Matthew Broderick, the first flick’s protagonist. Lanter provides a relentlessly dull presence, one who lacks charisma or anything more than a handsome face. Broderick managed to create a believable character, but Lanter just wanders through the role and brings nothing to the table.

It doesn’t help that he and his co-stars make for wholly unrealistic teenagers. I liked the fact that Broderick and Ally Sheedy felt like real high school students, but that sense of verisimilitude doesn’t reappear here. Lanter and his peers all feel significantly too old for the parts.
Ordinarily I could overlook that flaw, but given all the other problems with Code, the casting concerns become more glaring. To call this a braindead story would be a compliment. It provides frequent lapses and leaps in logic as it shows a nearly total lack of intelligence. The basic concept makes little sense - they’re using computer games to track terrorist cells? – and matters never improve from there. The way the film puts the government on Will’s case seems idiotic, and all subsequent developments vary from moderately insulting to downright absurd. The movie sets up an illogical world and can’t even be bothered to maintain any internal consistency.
To be honest, it feels like the screenwriters penned the script to Code over drinks – and scribbled it on a bar napkin. The lack of depth, believability or even basic common sense seems amazing. How did this thing get made?
I don’t know, but I can say that The Dead Code provides a serious disappointment. Even though I went into it with low expectations, the end product is so stupid, predictable and charmless that it can’t live up to even minor goals. This direct-to-video dreck poops on the original film’s legacy.

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