Pretty Good

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Good concept, poorly executed.

As Good As It Gets

The documentary centers on the fate of Mitnick, who is claimed to have been misrepresented in the feature film Takedown (2000) produced by Miramax and adapted from the book by the same name by Tsutomu Shimomura and John Markoff, which is based on disputed events. The film also documents a number of computer enthusiasts who drive across the United States searching for Miramax representatives and demonstrating their discontent with certain aspects of the bootleg script of Takedown they had acquired. Several notable and iconic figures from the hacking community appear in the movie, including Phiber Optik (Mark Abene), Bernie S (Ed Cummings), Alex Kasper, and (director) Emmanuel Goldstein (Eric Corley). Freedom Downtime tries to communicate a different view of the hacker community from that usually shown by the mainstream media, with hackers being depicted as curious people who rarely intend to cause damage, driven by a desire to explore and conduct pranks.

Spoilers herein.Consider this the evil twin to `Takedown.'In true hacker tradition, you start with the files, in this case something that really happened. Then you have two parties breaking into the sanctity of journalistic truth and hacking them for their own purposes.First we have the shameless version by Shimomura. I know scores of people who really work for the good guys - many brilliant minds. We are all ashamed of his version, which has been cracked and shredded from truth. And Miramax should today be castigated for trumpeting itself as the good guys (because of its distributing Micheal Moore's entertainments).But that doesn't justify this similar hatchet job. It does feature an embarrassing interview with a dumb journalist - as if we were supposed to be surprised. And it raises clear gaps between what Kevin might have done and what some wildeyed prosecutors claimed. (Kevin was more a talented con man than cracker.) But none of this was harmless prankstering, and this hacking of the truth is as sullied as Shimomura‘s.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

as others have, i shall preface this. when i was young, i was what you would call a hacker. now im in network security, and deployment. i am intricately linked with the concept of hackers, and their real world conterparts, good and bad.now, this move, well, it's just good to watch. if your a hacker, or a geeeek, you probably already know about kevins harrowing experience. if not, buckle up, cause your eyes are about to be pried open to the reality of the justice system, and it's total lack of knowlege about anything with a cpu. you will be struck by the concept that there is indeed a secondary culture growing up right around you. that your neighbors, friends, and even your boss, could have a completely different life from that you know. your children could. yes, thats scary, but whats more frightening, is that thweir life could be ruined, the moment someone decides they know too much, and could POTENTIALLY pose a threat. that was kevins true downfall. he potentially could have posed a threat. something the movie missed is that thousands of people are better hackers then kevin, and they roam the channels freely. mostly it is because they are lucky, and stay under the radar.as for those of you who ARE already aware of the shafting mitnik, and geeks in general get from the justice system, stick with it, you might see someone you know, and it's a rare chance to see what goes on at the conventions you should get your ass out to...

This is a very well-crafted documentary. It shows what the media should have been showing. It delivers the whole story of Mitnick, proving wrong the book and the movie made about him. The documenters also interviewed (and tried to interview) key subjects. Also presented is the journey that the filmmakers' took to make this documentary, along with the (exciting!) long road to Las Vegas.This is definitely an educational and worthwhile video to watch. Everyone should see it, including students and non-computer geeks. There is no hype, just the facts. You will see the term "hacker" in a different light.Oh, and be sure to get your hands on the DVD when it comes out.