Steve Jobs

As someone who has worked in computing for 30 years, I was greatly looking forward to Danny Boyle's new 'biopic' (using the term fairly loosely) about Apple founder Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender). Whilst I can't claim it was a bad film, I was ultimately slightly disappointed by the result.

The film zeroes in on some specific snapshots of Jobs's career, all centred around his famously theatrical product launches. During the course of three acts we see the preparations leading up to his launch of the original Mackintosh, his Next educational 'cube' and the gloriously different iMac.

As these acts span 14 years, we see the ongoing battle between Jobs and the flaky mother of his daughter (Katherine Waterston). We also see the often despicable way in which he treats his staff, including disparaging his closest colleague and co-founder Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen). In fact the only person he shows much respect for – at least for a while – is his boss and CEO John Sculley (Jeff Daniels).

During these exchanges, it is difficult to find Jobs remotely likable. He is portrayed – probably very accurately – as a man with fixated views, unable and unwilling to bend at all. In this capacity Fassbender turns in a predictably classy performance.

Trying to pour oil on continually troubled waters is Jobs's PA Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet), looking less like Kate Winslet than she has for a while. Winslet is the best thing in the film.

The script is by "West Wing" writer Aaron Sorkin, and it is extremely dense: I pity the poor couriers who had to deliver the screenplay to Fassbender and Winslet, and can only imagine the look on their faces when they realised they had to learn it all! And it is the script that is frustrating. I found the historical aspects of the roller-coaster ride of Jobs's career, supported by some great inserts of historical snippets by Arthur C Clarke and Bill Gates, fascinating. But the continual refocusing on the relationship with the daughter (Lisa) I found less compelling. And some of the right-angles taken by the dialogue strain credibility: when Sculley suddenly branches off into deep psychological counselling with Jobs on his childhood, minutes before a major presentation, it just doesn't ring true.

Above all, it was extremely frustrating that the story took you to the point in each act of an announcer saying "And now let's welcome to the stage STEVE JOBS…" and then the action cut away to the next scene. You never got to see Fassbender let rip at channelling the famous Jobs charisma to his assembly of baying geek disciples.

While there are occasional snatches of Danny Boyle's usual flair, it views as a fairly atypical Boyle film: just getting all the dialogue in leaves little time for much stylised delivery.

So in summary its a workmanlike film but, for me, unfortunately one of the disappointments of the film year to date.

(Please visit bob-the-movie-man.com for the graphical version of this review. Thanks.)

Steve Jobs (2015)

*** (out of 4)

Excellent performances highlight this wonderfully written and masterfully directed bio of Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender), a genius who changed the world even though he was unable to see what damage he was doing to those closest to him.

Danny Boyle's direction is spot-on in regards to being able to bring Aaron Sorkin's words to life. As I said, on a technical level the film is a marvel and you're also going to witness one of the greatest performances of the year but at the same time there was just something that didn't sit right. I'm honestly not sure what it was but there was something here that prevented the movie from being what I'd consider great.

I really loved Sorkin's screenplay and especially the dialogue. There's a lot of "intelligent" stuff being talked about and I liked the fact that they really didn't dumb anything down or try to make the film appeal to more mainstream crowds. I really thought the film broke down into four thirty-minute short films with each of them based around a various launch. Each launch also deals with the same thing and that's to show that Jobs really wasn't a very likable guy. Whether it was not being a good father or not being good to the mother of his child, the film doesn't hold back any punches. In fact, STEVE JOBS main goal appears to show how flawed the man was.

The greatest thing about the film is without question the performance from Fassbender. This role was rumored to be with many different actors but Fassbender certainly makes it his own and there's not a single second where you're seeing an actor doing a performance. Even though he doesn't look like Jobs the actor certainly becomes the character and makes you believe everything you're seeing. Kate Winslet is also wonderful in her head-to-head battles with Jobs and I thought her and Fassbender were excellent playing off one another. Seth Rogan and Jeff Daniels are both good in their supporting roles as well.

The film has a terrific, fast-paced style that director Boyle perfectly nails and I thought his directing skills were perfect for the screenplay. As I said, there's a lot of great stuff in this movie but it still fell a bit short of actually being a great movie.

Review: Everything that I have seen and heard about Steve Jobs, portrays him as an over controlling man with a bad attitude but you can't fault him for his amazing vision which has taken over the world. After his tragic death in 2011, at the age of 56, his company has still grown from strength to strength but his questionable methods and warped way of thinking, must have been difficult for the people around. Anyway, from an entertainment point of view, this film seemed very one toned and it felt like a group of conversations more than an deep insight behind the genius. The way that he talked to people and used vindictive tactics to get what he wanted, was truly horrible and he didn't really care about people's feelings. Even his daughter struggled to retain a decent relationship with Jobs but it was good to see that his trustee companion, Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet), had the ability to bring him back to earth. Michael Fassbender played his role extremely well alongside Seth Rogen (Steve Wozniak) and Kate Winslet but the storyline seemed messy and I would have liked to have seen Steve Jobs, in his earlier years. I also would have liked to have seen real footage of the individuals that were in the movie and they should have shown how Apple has changed the world today. I still enjoyed watching how he built his company and the relationship between Jobs and his daughter, Lisa, who he disowned in her early years but I don't think that his amazing story has been portrayed with much depth to date. If I was his close friend or a part of his family, I wouldn't be happy with the way that these movies have portrayed Jobs, because none of them show his good side. Maybe he didn't have one! Anyway, it's a watchable movie but I was expecting more from this top class director. Watchable!

Round-Up: Although Fassbender didn't look anything like Steve Jobs, over the 14 year period that the movie portrays, he still brought enormous intensity to the character, who seemed quite scary to be around. The music throughout the movie, suited the mood that was set by the director, Danny Boyle, 59 but I didn't quite understand why the whole film is based backstage, before Jobs is going to release a new computer. You can tell that Boyle has taken the events from a book, because it seemed more like a play than a movie. What's quite fascinating about the film, is that it proves that Jobs actually wasn't the engineer behind the many devices that was released under the Apple name but it was his unique vision and determination to get what he wanted, which has proved to be EXTREMELY successful. I was hoping to get more from the movie but I personally think that I need to watch the many documentaries to find out more about the mind behind the Apple brand.

Budget: $30million Worldwide Gross: $35million

I recommend this movie to people who are into their biography/dramas starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg and Katherine Waterston. 6/10

This film tells the story of Steve Jobs developing products for Apple Computers, then his subsequent venture outside Apple then back again as the Apple CEO.

This version of the Steve Jobs rise and fall story may be more truthful than the other film "Jobs", but it does not engage me because I find it full of negative energy. People are bickering all the time, with lots of fights and nasty comments are thrown at each other. Steve is portrayed to be an utterly horrible person, yet there are occasional scenes that are discordant, creating a lack of continuity with the character's personality. The ending seems like a desperate attempt to put some positivity back in, but it just doesn't work for me.

Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac.

Thismay be the most interesting way to tell the story of Steve Jobs. We see almost nothing about his life or who he was, other than what we get from his interactions with his daughter, his assistant and Steve Wozniack. Although it leaves a lot out, it is still surprisingly effective.

And what we have is a very limited arc, from failures to success. We never get beyond 1998, so there is no iPod, iPad, iPhone or any of the things that have since made Apple a giant in the tech field. But again, this makes for some interesting storytelling.