Track Down

Track Down (also known as Takedown outside the USA), is a 2000 film about computer hacker Kevin Mitnick, based on the book Takedown by John Markoff and Tsutomu Shimomura. The film was directed by Joe Chappelle and stars Skeet Ulrich and Russell Wong.

Plot

For years Kevin Mitnick had eluded federal agents while using the latest electronic gadgetry to break into countless computers and gain access to sensitive and valuable information. But when he breaches the system of leading computer crimes expert Tsutomu Shimomura, it sets off an epic chase through cyberspace between a pair of hard-driven geniuses operating on different sides of the law.

Release

The film was released to theaters in France as Cybertraque in 2000, then on DVD in Europe as Takedown later, such as in Germany in May 2003. It was released on DVD in the U.S. as Track Down in late 2004.

Criticism

Factual inaccuracies

In Kevin Mitnick's The Art of Deception, Mitnick states that both book and movie are "extremely inaccurate" and based on media hype. In the film, Mitnick and Shimomura meet twice, one of these meetings prompts Kevin to flee to Seattle. This meeting did not actually take place.