Jobs takes a look at the key events and moments in the history of Apple and its leader, Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher). The film does a decent job of covering some of the key moments of Apple’s history, but unfortunately, the filmmakers do not go deep enough into the complex personality of Steve Jobs.
The film begins with what was one of the major defining moments of Apple’s history – the keynote event that introduces the iPod to the world. We’re then taken back to the early days as we follow Jobs start Apple Computers from his parent’s basement with co-founder Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad), and the many trials and tribulations that were involved with running a rising company in the personal computer industry – at a time when the personal computer industry was beginning to explode.
We are shown Jobs’ interactions with other people in his life over the years and the range of his characteristics towards those people, which is insightful, however there is no exploration into what made Jobs tick. He is portrayed as a passionate individual with a huge desire for his products – it’s just that we do not see where the passion and desire came from.
Kutcher is respectable as Jobs and does the Apple visionary justice, both in look and demeanour. Josh Gad’s interpretation of Steve Wozniak, the original Apple computer engineer and all-round good-guy also deserves an honourable mention. It’s fair to say, the entire cast of Jobs deserves credit. All the supporting cast are great in their roles, it’s just a shame the script doesn’t offer them much to work with.
Jobs is an entertaining film that keeps viewers engaged from start to finish. Anyone that has read the Walter Isaacson biography of Steve Jobs may find disappointment at how parts of Jobs’ life were skimmed over in the movie, however those that do not know much about Apple’s history will likely and rightly, find the film to be informative.
Jobs is the type of film that could easily pass as a straight-to-video film or a TV movie. The people involved in the history of Apple and the events surrounding Jobs and the company are interesting enough to hold your attention, but the lack of depth shown into the mind of Steve Jobs will disappoint those looking for a deeper understanding of the man behind one of the largest shifts in human culture and technological innovation of modern times.
Fun Fact:
Almost all of the scenes involving Jobs’ parents’ house and garage were filmed in the actual Los Altos, California house and garage where Steve Jobs grew up in the 1970s.
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