Takedown (2000)

This film is based on the story of the capture of computer hacker Kevin Mitnick.

Director:

Joe Chappelle

Writers:

Tsutomu Shimomura (book), John Markoff (book)

Stars:

Skeet Ulrich, Russell Wong, Angela Featherstone

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Skeet Ulrich	...	Kevin Mitnick
Russell Wong	...	Tsutomu Shimomura
Angela Featherstone	...	Julia
Donal Logue	...	Alex Lowe
Christopher McDonald	...	Mitch Gibson (as Chris McDonald)
Master P	...	Brad
Tom Berenger	...	McCoy Rollins
Jeremy Sisto	...	Lance 'Icebreaker' Petersen
Amanda Peet	...	Karen
Ethan Suplee	...	Dan Bradley
Dorit Sauer	...	Shelley
Mark Joy	...	Committee Chairman
Scott Cooper	...	Jake Cronin
Ned Bellamy	...	Tom Fiori
Sara Melson	...	Rachel

Storyline

Kevin Mitnick is quite possibly the best hacker in the world. Hunting for more and more information, seeking more and more cybertrophies every day, he constantly looks for bigger challenges. When he breaks into the computer of a security expert and an ex-hacker, he finds one - and much more than that...

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Plot Keywords:

computer | hacker | computer hacker | computer virus | based on book | 

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Taglines:

The world has a right to know.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 2000 (France)

Also Known As:

Track Down

Filming Locations:

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Millennium Films, Hacker Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kevin Mitnick uses Martin Brice as one of his aliases, which is an alias used by Robert Redford in Sneakers (1992). Donal Logue (Alex Lowe) played Dr. Gunter Janek in 'Sneakers'.

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Goofs

Alex Lowe states that 56 bit encryption allows for roughly 72 trillion combinations. He is off by 3 orders of magnitude. 56 bit encryption allows for roughly 72 quadrillion combinations.

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Quotes

Tsutomu Shimomura: I mean, how lame are you?

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Connections

Referenced in Freedom Downtime (2001)

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Soundtracks

Lieing In Bed
Performed by Aryana
Written by Aryana & Tod McKitterick
Published by Pollution Free Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Aryana & Other Music

User Reviews

Decent Hacker Film

This is a decent hacker film, in that the scenes of hacking are somewhat realistic and not the CGI-aided, flashy-screen crap that Hollywood has been foisting upon us for years. Also commendable is the manner in which the screenwriters show Mitnick's abilities to "human engineer" his future victims, cold-calling them and convincing them to give him closely guarded secrets.

The movie has several flaws, because it was meant to be entertainment rather than a true story. It is also cut way too fast, with a lot of jarring editing and unnecessary blaring techno music.

There are many people who feel the movie is unfair to Kevin Mitnick. In the first place, it is fiction. In the second place, Mitnick is a criminal. I lived through the whole "Free Kevin" nonsense push, and was very quickly turned off by the way the pro-hacker movement wanted to whitewash away Mitnick's crimes and portray him as an innocent victim. The man broke into numerous secure systems and stole data, hijacked cell phone lines accruing hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen air time, infiltrated private data accounts, and electronically harassed those who were pursuing them. He broke the law, and his avoidance of prosecution for breaking the law only stiffened the fine he would pay.

While I am certainly not for the unlawful incarceration of any criminal, nor the denial of their rights, we must be clear that hacking is not a right. Hacking is exactly the same as breaking into someone's house. The defense "I was just looking around" means nothing; the crime is breaking in, not what you do with what you find. That is the law. At one point in the movie the Mitnick character says "I could steal money from all these banks, but I don't!". Well, that certainly doesn't mean he won't if he needs to, or that he won't give the information to others with less scruples. It's rather like saying, "Sure I have all this nitroglycerine, but you don't see me blowing anybody up, do you?"

Mitnick is not a hero, except to the rather sad hacker community who want to believe they can violate the law - because they have the ability - and not face the consequences. I am glad that he is no longer in prison, as I understand he faced some terrible events there that far outweigh what he did as a hacker. But he knew the risks when he undertook his criminal activity, and I cannot feel sorrow for him.