In Takedown (2000), Kevin Mitnick is the hacker whose pursuit by authorities forms the film’s subject.
The film dramatizes the capture of Mitnick, a prominent American computer hacker, after a period in which law enforcement pursued him for unauthorized access and computer-related offenses. Skeet Ulrich portrays Mitnick, while Tom Berenger plays computer-security consultant Tsutomu Shimomura.
Takedown was based on Shimomura and John Markoff’s book Takedown. Its account of events was disputed, and critics noted that the movie simplifies or alters parts of the real story. It should therefore be treated as a dramatization rather than a precise documentary.
The case became a major 1990s example of the public debate over hacking, computer trespass, media attention, and the boundary between security research and crime.