The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
Participant Media | Release Date: June 27, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 26, 2014
This is a film that left me marveling at Swartz’s beautiful mind, and shaking my head at the insanity of the system he knew was badly fractured. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJun 25, 2014
All but a must-see for anyone who knows enough to care about the way laws govern information transfer in the digital age, Brian Knappenberger's The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz is an inspiring account of the life of, and an infuriating chronology of the persecution of, one of the Internet's most impressive prodigies. Read full review
90
VarietyGeoff BerkshireJun 25, 2014
The Internet’s Own Boy is a beautifully crafted film that opens a window on a world not everyone has entered yet, and exposes ways in which both the legal system and the U.S. government is lagging hopelessly behind technology. Read full review
90
Village VoiceChris PackhamJun 24, 2014
Brian Knappenberger's The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz connects the dots of Swartz's past, assembling a vivid portrait of a sensitive genius with a strong moral sense. Read full review
80
The GuardianLeslie FelperinOct 26, 2015
Essential viewing for anyone interested in what freedom of information means in the digital age, this passionate, fascinating, unapologetically partial but fair documentary celebrates Aaron Swartz. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 26, 2014
Whether Aaron Swartz is a personal hero or someone you've never heard of until now, his story cannot help but touch you. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJun 26, 2014
Moving and maddening in almost equal measure, Brian Knappenberger’s The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz is a devastating meditation on what can happen when a prescient thinker challenges corporate interests and the power of the state. Read full review
75
The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicJul 3, 2014
What it lacks in cinematic girth, it makes up for in factual appeal. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Simon HouptJun 27, 2014
Delivers a touching, morally outraged portrait that, in memory of Swartz, may inspire people to ask hard questions about how the new world is being shaped away from view, behind closed doors. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJun 27, 2014
Aaron Swartz’s story should make you furious. In an era when real criminals of our financial crisis ride limousines to dine with the President, our government overzealously tried to put a man behind bars for decades because he tried to better the world. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovernJun 27, 2014
Swartz’s ex-girlfriend adds heart when she tearfully recalls first seeing the ”end date” on his Wikipedia page. Read full review
75
Washington PostStephanie MerryJun 26, 2014
Knappenberger’s documentary is smart and focused, homing in on a recurring theme of independence. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrJun 26, 2014
Knappenberger can’t paint his subject as an imperfect human being because Swartz simply means too much to too many people right now. He’s a focal point for social and political change, with communal grief as its engine. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJun 25, 2014
While Swartz almost certainly would not have been sentenced to 50 years in prison, a system that tries to scare harmless do-gooders into submission does America no credit. In this case, it succeeded all too horribly well. Read full review
75
IndieWireKatherine Kilkenny Jun 25, 2014
Knappenberger has delivered a film brimming with outrage, whose zeal becomes persuasive once Swartz takes on his activist mantle. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineNick PriggeJun 23, 2014
The film is far from a technical matter, fiercely promoting Swartz's legacy and challenging us with the same questions its central subject was compelled to ask. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJun 26, 2014
See the movie, flaws and all, simply to see where you stand in this digital river that runs through all our lives, connecting and isolating us in ways we're barely able to comprehend. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle SmithJun 25, 2014
This one-sided documentary, told entirely by supporters, paints Swartz as a hero pursued by malign forces. Read full review
60
The TelegraphAmber WilkinsonJun 25, 2014
The subject is an important one but would benefit from a shorter running time. Read full review
60
The DissolveScott TobiasJun 25, 2014
It’s a call to action in the form of an adoring profile, which is effective (and affecting) strategy, but narrow, propagandistic filmmaking. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichJun 24, 2014
This is a movie that preaches to its rafters-raising choir. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelJul 4, 2014
In The Internet's Own Boy, writer-director Brian Knappenberger ("We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists") paints a portrait of Swartz as a martyr for the information age, but ultimately the story falls short of such mythic ambition. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJun 26, 2014
Melancholy, often muddled documentary. Read full review
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