as i am a crime writer, and know all about... movie is a great to watch, simply because you know what you are going to watch. There is so many titles with great plot, but actually nothing going on inside. The only movies which can be connect with this one as I know are:Thief (1981) -- zero points Swordfish (2001) - great movie Hackers (1995) - waste of the time The Conversation (1974) - fantastic Torrente - funny movie ...probably there some more. including TV episodes which are for kids mostly...I would like to see more of it based on electronic crimes... if you know some you can post me.About the movie. Production is fine. Actors could be better but is fine... About the plot, fine, but telephone phreaking will not work out at my knowledge. The schematic which is shown in the begging has nothing to do with it. They sucks his information from laptop* with some device like a ??? yea right.... laptop generate signal just which they want...He can not connect with somebody if he has computer turned of and having a sex with his girlfriend? I HATE THIS IN THE MOVIES! (using stand by on LAN?)The same with the ending of the movie -- o common? Is there any better ending than that? The way how they get the factory information... it is great thing'' - no doubt. Score 10.How to found a hacker: talking at chatting rooms... this is true!Having a free tel access... putting a bug /worm/ inside... I will let somebody else to judge about it. quotes: ''i know the guy who knows the guy'' they have trace him by original forwarded ip receive from the server - that is how they catch

Not arguing technical details or realism, I feel what is presented in this movie is an all-too black and white picture of hackers, or "Crackers", as the hero refers to them. Great pains are taken to portray Kevin Mitnick as a temper-prone, reactionary, asocial neurotic, with nuances of sexual dysfunctionality thrown in as well. Whereas, the hero (Tsutomu Shimomura)comes off as being the shiniest star in the sky.I would say this general portrayal is unfair, and nearly propagandistic in its intent. The movie really becomes a base for expounding the moral issues of hacking and 'freedom of information' in a society that survives on security. It is a clear warning, and it does NOT favor hacking or hackers.I am appalled by that, because a more open picture of both sides might have been painted. "Hackers" brought the world to the standards of today, and daily test the security and limits of it... likewise, "programmers" continue to strive for safety, but also encrypt for greed, control, power, and politics. It is not all back and white.Either a hacker OR a programmer are capable of accidentally, or intentionally creating havoc in a real world of banking, traffic lights, airports, and defense systems, although the chances seem less with programmers (unless you know about "The Singularity").All I am saying is that this movie is VERY biased against hackers, it allows them NO redeemable social attributes, and it radically stereotypes them. It is intended to PERSUADE you. THAT, I regard as a THREAT to my own individual freedom of thought, and when you cross that line... alarms go off.BEWARE of this if you haven't seen this movie yet.Did "Big Brother" produce this film? ("Big Brother" is a reference to George Orwell's novel "1984") Regardless, the movie has good detail within a fast-moving and captivating plot.Lastly, NO, I am NOT pro-hacker oriented. Mitnick is clearly a criminal with a long record of convictions dating all the way back to 1981... but, I don't like being told what, or how, to think about a whole class of people.

Although when i first watched the film i liked it. although i then found out the truth about the Kevin Mitchnick story. And this film is bull Pooh and doesn't portray the truth. if your interested watch freedom downtime i have seen it and they interview Kevin in it to get the truth don't go by the plot of this film. Also if anyone has any more information about Kevin and general stuff along these lines you can send to me greatly appreciated i thought id clear the rumour about it being a follow up of hacker its not can people please not make that assumption its not its an independent filmthanks Yoda_the_jedi Northamptonshire u.k

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.