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It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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.

Freedom Downtime is basically a personal video record of the "Free Kevin" campaign to free notorious hacker Kevin Mitnick. It's not really about hacking at all and the comparisons to Michael Moore are only appropriate in that the filmmaker confronts those who have been deemed as bad guys. Other than that, Freedom Downtime shares nothing in common with Michael Moore films and is an interesting, albeit scary, look at the justice system in the USA.It should be an interesting film for anyone who remembers the "Free Kevin" campaign that was once so prevalent on the internet. It's full of that dry humor so appreciated by hacker culture, which adds a little hacker flavor to an otherwise serious subject. Those not familiar with Mitnick may not appreciate the film as much, but they'll still come away with an inside glimpse into serious problems with the justice system and the corporate media's willingness to ignore the truth when it wishes to do so. Of course, this won't come as a big surprise today, when trust in the corporate media is at an all-time low and people have turned to the internet as a result.

Tries to victimize a guy who knowingly broke multiple laws on multiple accounts. Boo-hoo. I haven't hacked any corporate systems and guess what. I never had to get in the rear in prison.

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.