WarGames - Your New Defense System Sucks

Scene from the 1983 movie Wargames. After avoiding nuclear armageddon, the War Operations Planned Response (WOPR) computer (aka Joshua) tries to "crack" the nuclear missile launch codes to continue with the nuclear war simulation game started by David Lightman. General Beringer expresses his opinion of the computer system to one of its designers, Dr. John McKittrick.

[@Saffetree]

"I was hoping for something a little better than that from you, sir -- a man of your education." God bless Barry Corbin.

[@MrAmpsycho]

Probably my favorite exchange of the whole film!

[@johnnyguitar6639]

@@MrAmpsycho Yeah.But even better where is he gonna go.Since he don't have have to take it. He doesn't look like he could win a fist fight. And they are both stuck in an underground bunker. If he feel he don't have to take it,he could always go outside.

[@dondrapersayswhat]

It's cool the way the general turns McKitterick's arrogant self regard against himself. He imagines he's the adult in the room, the only one smart enough to guide them through this mess, not a barbarian like these army men. Then after Col. Beringer correctly places the blame at McKitterick's feet, he pokes a hole in that illusion, too.

[@robertmorris8997]

"I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it'd do any good."

[@robertmorris8997]

@@dondrapersayswhat Air Force

[@reallyWyrd]

That is one of my very favorite scenes. Considering the situation, I think the General's criticism was perfectly valid.

[@mattstorm360]

Yep. Like the decision not to endorse a park.

[@damsarebiotic6263]

Nah general is just being a dick. Everyone knows that they are at fault, by telling them that it’s unproductive as well as starting conflict.

[@flankspeed]

To be fair, the comeback wasn't bad either 🤣

[@wjrasmussen666]

That general is just a straight shooter with upper management written all over him.

[@peterp2153]

You mean a wacko semi-sentient computer hacking launch codes to start the apocalypse? I’d say so.

[@JimHalpertFromTheOffice]

"God damn it, I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it'd do any good!"

[@jackspickphone6656]

This movie had everyone on the edge of their seats. You had to experience the 70s and 80s to feel it the way this movie's producers intended.

[@isn0t42]

I'm good. But thanks for the offer.

[@jaimevalencia6271]

I mean I get the feeling of almost dying all the time I don’t think I had to be born 20 years earlier lol

[@jackspickphone6656]

@@jaimevalencia6271 the paranoia and Cold War feeling back then, made the drama even more intense. That's the thought I was attempting to convey

[@jaimevalencia6271]

@@jackspickphone6656 ik I’m just being an asshole but it went over your head

[@jackspickphone6656]

@@jaimevalencia6271 ok well done lol

[@jeffreytan2948]

Everybody gansta until WOPR locks you out of the missile deactivation controls

[@ZylonBane]

Other things that suck: Leaving your mouse pointer over the screen while capturing video.

[@tugatomskanimation6370]

Yeah, I kept trying to wipe it off my phone screen thinking it was dust that just wouldn't come off!

[@alexjones9308]

beggars cant be choosy

[@your.local.loyalist3368]

@Robert N four years later

[@DanielWSonntag]

Agreeing, 4 years later

[@f430ferrari5]

The nerve of home man of his intelligence. 🤣😂

[@blazerocker1734]

David: "What are those?" Stephen Falken: "Those are launch codes." Jennifer: "What are they for?" *r/woosh*

[@B2Roland]

She's written like such a moron lol

[@tinman3747]

@@B2Roland audience surrogate

[@adamdymke8004]

@@B2Roland You need a character to ask stupid questions so you can explain concepts to the audience.

[@hugehappygrin]

Those codes allow you to order lunch.

[@jinx1987]

Skeletor: Ha, just like a woman!

[@hothotheat3000]

Remember when “sucks” was a huge cuss word? Now everyone says it so casually.

[@JoshSweetvale]

Sure buddy.

[@tinman3747]

That's how swears work. Except fuck, that one has been pretty consistent over the years

[@WoodsToLiveBy]

At the top of this clip, after the disaster-supposedly-averted moment, you know something's still up because Falken is the only one not celebrating. He knows there is likely more to come.

[@DanJanTube]

Mr. Corbin had some of the best lines in this movie

[@peterp2153]

I’d piss on a spark plug if I thought it would help! Let the boy in!

[@Radionut]

I love that movie I actually saw it in theaters and it was extremely exciting brought back the feelings of the Cuban missile crisis when I was a kid

[@develynseether4426]

The question is. Did they stop the practicing of 'duck and cover' in schools because the cold war ended or because the weapons became so powerful they knew it was pointless?

[@tomchien7692]

“extremely exciting brought back the feelings of the Cuban missile crisis”??? Ahhh, yes, those were good ole days.

[@theduke7539]

Problem is, the silo computers were and still are, Air gapped. For starters, they run on 1970s computers because the processing power is so low, that the computer would fry itself just trying to run even the simplest virus someone would ever try and upload to it. But also, they are Air gapped, meaning there's not even a power cable connecting them to other computers. Meaning that no matter what orders are sent out, there has to be a human inbetween who can be reached and told to ignore the codes.

[@LOLHAMMER45678]

The premise of this movie is that the 30% of the silo crews failed to launch their missiles in a very realistic wargame, so all of the silos were networked to Cheyenne mountain- CINCNORAD himself would push a button and launch all of them.

[@gaveintothedarkness]

if you havent seen the videos already, there are some great nuclear silo tours that take you into the control room and simulate a launch.

[@peterkwolek2265]

I get the feeling you haven't watched the whole movie. In earlier scene they replaced the air gap with a computer node at each silo.

[@kypdurron62]

The premise of this movie is that they removed the gap to tie in the WOPR

[@aaronsmith8073]

It was explained in the movie that icbm crews could not either get to the silos on time or would hesitate when engaging the order to launch the missiles. The idea was to give the generals and politicians a few extra minutes lead time whether the orders were to launch on command or launch on warning (ensuring the silos were empty before the soviet warheads hit them). Falken's idea behind WOPR literally defined the zero-sum game theory whereby both the attacker and the defender would be faced with a true no-win scenario. Corbin's character thought he could weaponize the architecture so he largely ignored the basic premise behind Falken's work.

[@davidglaza5638]

R.I.P. Mr. McKittrick. Dabney Coleman was an incredible actor and diverse. Comedy, drama it didn't matter.

[@AgentExeider]

the funny thing is the general could have responded to McKittrick with something like _"See these stars on my shoulder? That means I'm a duly appointed representative of the US government and you're just a civilian contractor on a military base, so actually, YEAH, you DO have to take that."_

[@cripplious]

he could have had him detained

[@emceeboogieboots1608]

My wife watching One Tree Hill: Oh, thats coach Whitey Me: He would piss on a spark plug if it would do any good My wife: ???

[@JoshSweetvale]

2:30 Yeah, pal, you may or may not have killed the planet. Least the good General can do is rub your nose in it.

[@JohnnyLaps]

Funniest line ever.The General steals every scene he is in..

[@richi1074]

The only thing they had to do was going back to defcon 5. It was said earlier that the missiles could only be fired at defcon 1.

[@samsonguy10k]

It would seem likely that would require being able to log back in.

[@zachhoward9099]

That’s only procedural as Mr.McKittrick said the computer was still armed and would interpret a shutdown as NORAD having been destroyed, remember they didn’t lock out changes and arm the missiles UNTIL they reached DEFCON 1, by procedure, from that point the missiles were armed and ready for the launch command either by button press or the system losing contact with NORAD which it would interpret as its destruction and automatically would launch the missiles itself

[@mylovesongs2429]

One of the best, most nerve-wracking scenes from this awesome nuclear thriller!!!!

[@reptongeek]

I love it when the lady says it will hit the launch code in '5.3 minutes'

[@allanchoy1386]

let's see...three 10ths...times 60...5:18.

[@slimj091]

No woman has ever said "It will hit the launch codes in 5.3 minutes" sexier.

[@mwnciboo]

I love 0.3 of minute...I'm one of those guys who instantly goes 18s in my head.

[@spg1794]

to discover a 10 digit alphanumeric combination in 6 minutes or less that would require over 200 billion attempts per second, wow thats a hell of a computer i cant believe its not even dimming the lights...of the entire state

[@spg1794]

@@mwnciboo ... 0.3 of a minute is 20 seconds =/

[@bobcole612]

Beautiful (and sadly departed) Juanin Clay.

[@dylanpresidafonseca2545]

@@spg1794 hey - 0.3 ≠ 1/3

[@smoothALOE]

You gotta love Barry Corbin!

[@danbongard3226]

I always get him and Trey Wilson confused. They cornered the market on the "tough-talkin' 80s Texan" roles.

[@smoothALOE]

@@danbongard3226 I think that’s a fair mixup.

[@RCAvhstape]

I had a major crush on Ally Sheedy growing up, but it's been a long time since I've seen this film and forgot how young she was.

[@edwardpate6128]

She just had such a wonderful freshness about her!

[@BlacKnightRising]

'Mr. McKittrick after very careful consideration sir I've come to the conclusion that your new defense system SUCKS!' '...oh I was hoping for something a littler better than that from you sir a man of your education' LOL gotta love the General a great movie....well until the cesspool that is hollywood decides to 'remake it' and ruin it...

[@NeilPower]

Beringer: Well hell, I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good!

[@scottmatheson3346]

who do you think made this movie in the first place, smart guy?

[@BlacKnightRising]

There was no such thing as wokeness back then smart guy now if you were paying attention u'd understand that

[@piotrd.4850]

Already had remade it -well, there was attrocious sequel.

[@BlacKnightRising]

@Piotr D. that was so bad nobody even heard of it

[@juanmanuelpenaloza9264]

Wait, I remember a Senator saying that to Mark Zuckerberg about the terms and conditions for Facebook ...so Congress has seen WarGames.

[@MagicAl5F4781]

The movie was well-known in DC as soon as it came out because the Reagans were personal friends of screenwriter Lawrence Lasker, who arranged for them to see it at Camp David the same weekend it hit theaters. President Reagan found the computer hacking ideas very concerning and asked at a meeting with members of congress, intelligence and defense officials if it could really happen. This prompted a review that found real vulnerabilities with computer systems and led to the first cybersecurity policy and anti-hacking legislation.

[@JC-wo2py]

I love how their laughing behind him

[@thetrashman5381]

2:37 TRIGGERED

[@SnabbKassa]

That guy's pride is obviously way more important that avoiding accidental launches(!)

[@gaveintothedarkness]

Amazing how the comments are not just people complaining about the mouse courser.

[@silvereagle2061]

It was trying to cloak itself.

[@jwrobin21]

That is something I cannot understand. Surely, you need all the Alphanumeric Characters to be entered in the correct order at ONCE. Sending random characters would achieve NOTHING; that is the point of 10 digit plus security codes.

[@MaciekJutrzenka]

not if there is no delay between eah attempts... if there is no such limit.. a PC can send 100k passwords in single sec. and basically just brute force every possible combination.

[@nippitaboy]

the compiuter don't find one number after anoder but trying evry 10 digit at the same time from "aaa" "aab" etc to "zzz"

[@reallyWyrd]

Yeah, I just look at it as the movie taking artistic license. Either that, or they had some really, really crappy algo for generating the launch codes that inadvertently leaked data back from every failed attempt that Joshua could use to surmise which parts were correct. (But that would be utterly ridiculous.)

[@MobileTaskForceE11]

“Your new defense system sucks” LOL

[@peterkwolek2265]

As a general policy, all US nukes are FAIL-SAFE as opposed to FAIL-DEADLY, or in other words if every single criterion is not met, missiles won't launch so pulling plug would shut everything down. There are even safe guards like if you took a nuke from a bomber, even with all the right codes you couldn't make it arm/detonate in a terrorist attack because the missile knows what "it feels like" to deploy from a bomber (altitude, velocity, etc), if those conditions aren't met then it won't work.

[@peterkwolek2265]

It's rumored that Russia went the path of FAIL-DEADLY so their nukes will go off even if C2 is badly compromised. (C2 = Command&Control ie w/e their equivalent to NORAD is)

[@peterkwolek2265]

wouldn't be surprised if some of our safety devices were added after military watched this movie lol

[@codyhall9223]

“Joshua what are you doing?” Chilling.

[@localroger]

Because Falken already knows the answer. It's a rhetorical question. Falken is hoping he's wrong but knows he's not.

[@spg1794]

launch code is 10 alphanumerics.. thats over 3 quadrillion possible combinations. Attempting random ones at what looks like 5 per second, ... that could take over a million years. Stand down red alert

[@develynseether4426]

Lol, even a computer nowadays it would take about 10 hours, if you had a GPU cluster specifically for things like that you could probably do it in about 2 hours.

[@piotrd.4850]

This move was epitome of writing and acting.

[@fgezu87]

WOPR would beat skynet anytime.

[@MrWolfSnack]

I'll take a cheeseburger over a militaian computer anyday.

[@RCAvhstape]

But how would it stack up against the Forbin Project's Colossus?

[@vfvs11a]

Before WOPR and Skynet there was Colossus

[@BlacKnightRising]

of course

[@piotrd.4850]

@@RCAvhstape Father & Son! :D

[@cameronalexander359]

WOPR is Skynet's grand pappy

[@jimmyconway294]

Barry Corbin, the Stephen Root of the 80s.

[@Dr.Adamastor]

We need more generals like him.

[@briansilva3765]

One of the funniest things this movie would influence was the creation of a Digimon Movie, Our War Game, while it doesn't have the moral lesson, the breakneck pace, intensity and danger of a missile launch is done just as well.

[@mortb9]

My favorite scene from this movie. R.I.P Dabney Coleman.

[@mylovesongs2429]

RIP Dabney Coleman. He was so awesome in this movie!!! 😢🙏💔

[@danski6694]

Came here to rewatch this scene after spotting the General at the 6666 Ranch in Yellowstone

[@scotthayes5933]

"No one can get back on, we're trying everything. It's like the entire password file's been wiped out". Sounds like a computer virus.

[@burtonwilliams5355]

. .turn it off . . then turn it back on ? IDK

[@samsonguy10k]

@@burtonwilliams5355 That's what the General proposed. Only without the turning back on part.

[@peterp2153]

Turning it off would be considered by the computer as NORAD being destroyed, which would then automatically trigger a launch.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

Ally Sheedy was so cute back in the day.

[@fubaralakbar6800]

This is an inconsistency in the movie I don't understand. WOPR didn't lock them out, they locked themselves out when Beringer ordered the major to "lock out changes". And they were shocked when they couldn't make changes?

[@chandlerwhite8302]

General Barringer should have knocked Dabney Coleman’s teeth out.

[@wandmayeslupik6302]

Paul.." aye captain...you cannot change the laws of physics!'....

[@chrisst8922]

Didn't I read that the lady who plays the assistant died shortly after the film was made just before the premier.

[@Progearspec]

RIP dabney coleman.

[@angellacanfora]

Watching Better Call Saul, season 5, ep 5, thinking I know that voice of the crusty old homeowner. And there he is!

[@prospero4183]

Always confused me the code thing, if he only needed to get one digit at a time, that's 36 wouldn't the computer get it in 0.000000000000001 sec. If it need to get the whole combination then surely it would never get it unless lucky.

[@pussypostlethwaitsaeronaut8503]

Quite so. I always thought it ridiculous. xx

[@greenglassman]

It cant get one digit at a time, he is trying every possibile combination possible of a 10 digit number letters included. That makes several millions of billions of combinations (~3.6561584e+15). It would have actually taken days or weeks with the computational power of that time with this brute-force search method, not 5,3 minutes.

[@danbongard3226]

@@greenglassman That's how it would actually work, yes, but the film shows Joshua identifying one digit at a time. It only takes a maximum of 100 guesses to identify a 10-digit number that way. Still, it was just visual shorthand for what was actually happening. Nothing to fuss over.

[@greenglassman]

@@danbongard3226 that because once it discarded all the possible combinations without the other numbers, he added that number on the code. That is way he takes minutes to add the first number but seconds to add the others. Simple statistic.

[@TheStewieOne]

Sorry Dabney Coleman, this is kind of your fault.

[@JChang0114]

Press the LOCK OUT changes button to turn it off.

[@qdllc]

Didn’t they think of cutting power to the computer?

[@therookpiece]

Still a great movie

[@pyromiko]

Just like the drone that kill the operator and the controller tower to achieve the target....

[@hellasgr8674]

don't let computers control the nukes, huge mistake

[@ccsuny2000]

The star of this clip is the pointer

[@JChang0114]

So the world is about to end but they had enough time to get visitor ID's.

[@jlam3187]

Nobody would tie the entire nuclear arsenal into a single, untested computer AI system controlled solely by said system without any additional layers of redundancy, human or otherwise, in the chain of command. That's a fairly large plothole this movie never addresses.

[@samsonguy10k]

The redundancy was the President and the General of NORAD. But they had already given WOPR what it needed and was ignoring them from here on out.

[@develynseether4426]

Lol a lot of movies like this have that kind of plot hole, ever heard of Terminator and Skynet?

[@samsonguy10k]

@@develynseether4426 Got an example that everyone here doesn't think of every day?

[@develynseether4426]

Red Queen in Resident Evil. Not nukes but still a system with zero ability for human intervention.

[@Ls98040]

Ok, Colossus: The Forbin Project. World Control is a computer like WOPR that has AI, links up with the Russian system and controls the world.

[@matthewbrightman3398]

Launch codes are 000000

[@jeffreywhitaker5154]

They cut scenes out of this segment. Smh.

[@jamesslick4790]

I'd piss on a sparkplug,,,,

[@randyduyck6254]

Its getting the launch codes!

[@peterkwolek2265]

irl, if it was a true emergency I suppose they could order their bombers to hit the silos. (they're in the middle of nowhere plus we still have subs)

[@localroger]

The bombers were on their way to the USSR, away from our missiles. There's nothing they could do to disable the silos in 5 minutes.

[@dshadow3173]

No wonder Ally Sheedy's character became such a basket case after this incident.

[@edwardpate6128]

OMG I had such a crush on Ally Sheedy!

[@Andy-Mesa]

Had? I *still* have a crush on Ally Sheedy.

[@manw3bttcks]

2:28 for the quote

[@rascallyrabbit717]

or like president Mufflin in Dr Strangelove "gentleman you can't fight in here, this is the war room." classic

[@williamheyman5439]

All they had to do was shut off the electricity.

[@williamheyman5439]

Oh, if it was in California then PG&E would have done it anyway.

[@uncahay]

Uh, did you watch the scene?

[@develynseether4426]

Cutting the power would send an instant launch code to the missiles as the system would assume power failure means NORAD was wiped out and it would follow its last known directive. That's another reason why they kept the missiles at ready to launch back then.

[@su-25frogfoot74]

Nice mouse dude

[@housevil2]

The mouse cursor on screen angers me.

[@patchesw3815]

Don’t trust AI……..

[@brianellinger6622]

I know... I think that my editor is out to lunch

[@rodneyclark7407]

This is what happens when go computrise all hell breaks loose 💣📠📣󾠶󾠮󾠮

[@tacticalwarfare8413]

No impact sir just delayed

[@jondstewart]

The man doesn't look old enough or hardly act like a four star General! There's only about a dozen of them in the entire Air Force and they don't work and hang out with the general populace of Airmen, NCO's, and junior officers. It's obvious there was no military advisor with this movie.

[@robertlombardo8437]

Jon Stewart Well I think the implication is that this general is in charge of all ICBM operations and was personally overseeing the incorporation of WOPR at NORAD. As for his age and his hands-on attitude... ehh, in any case movies have a suspension of disbelief. Makes things interesting.

[@Jorvard]

Next you're going to tell me that the airmen in Dr. Strangelove were unrealistic!

[@lewisvogel466]

I did 20 years in the Air Force, and I would've pissed on a spark plug to work for a general like him.

[@danielbohatkiewicz71]

Fucking DOS. I had a TSR 80 Tandy 64kb analogue TV compatable pc contained in a keyboard and I learned to you use it. Dungeons of Dagorath similer to the game in Tom Hanks Movie Big/... after my speak and math broke... Were learning fucking god damn it.

[@EricToTheScionti]

Ahhaha

[@jonathanturek5846]

Im here because Senator Kennedy would make a fine replacement as general.... Just because he reminds me of this guy.. Senator Kennedy has same type of sensor of humor and wit.. Just a random shit an 80s kid thinks of I guess. Ps Buellers GFs are still super hot. Lol

[@dariusnikbin1695]

Whopper... ENT

[@Fox-One1937]

For such problems, just get the power switch off

[@colinmerritt7645]

They talked about that. Turn off the computer = missile launch

[@trevorlane]

Hawaii

[@martinreid9184]

mmmm Ali sheedy xxx

[@nairdanahcus9555]

( BCAEAFAH)

[@jasonb2702]

%

[@jonathanturek5846]

I made a comment to replace Milley with this guy... Lol or if he could not Senator Kennedy would be just as good Lol get em Kennedy Slap them dems around with good ole fashion commen sense

[@lancer525]

Well, haven't you been thoroughly brainwashed... When you grow up, I hope you'll see the rank stupidity in your statement.

[@Camman010]

This is one movie that could use a remake in modern day. Maybe use North Korea or someplace in the middle east as the bad guys the US will attack.

[@EricToTheScionti]

No