Saturday 7 September 2013

Film Review: Jobs



A biopic of Steve Jobs, the founder and innovator behind Apple Computers, Jobs lands in the middle-ground between outstanding and poor.

Following on from his death in 2011, Jobs examines the duality behind one of the most successful businessmen from the Digital Age, Steve Jobs. In the film, Jobs is played by Charlie Sheen 2.0, Ashton Kutcher and the film follows his rise from working out of his families garage to the big-world of the computer industry.

First off, the plus sides. Ashton Kutcher is great as the titular character, Steve Jobs. Not just great, fantastic even. It's a big surprise given the degree to which his character on Two and a Half Men makes me want to gouge out my own eyes.

His portrayal of the morally ambiguous technical pioneer was the best thing about this film. He swings from being downright despicable to uplifting and endearing, a range not many actors could pull off normally.

I did like the way in which the film didn't portray Jobs as an angelic hero; he was a bastard, a completely horrible man who abandoned his child and fired employees completely worthy of staying. He abused those who didn't fit his 'vision' and obsessively pursued creative originality and uniqueness.

I thought it was brave to show the numerous shades of grey the character encapsulates. Not knowing much about Steve Jobs made watching this film an entertaining and informative experience. The film looks great also as the 70's and 80's setting looks authentic and detailed.

JK Simmons plays manipulative board member Arthur Rock whilst Josh Gad is great as Steve Wozniak, Job's original business partner. Both are great and stand out from an otherwise blurred and so-so ensemble.

The pacing of the film is where things start to get wobbly. The film inches along very slowly, two hours and seven minutes feeling like an eternity at times.Things start off great with Jobs' college years but once we arrive at middle-age and corporate politics, things start to drag. Board meeting after board meeting after board meeting...

I also found that there was way too much uplifting piano music (the kind Apple still use in their adverts). On the whole, I can recommend Jobs to anyone who is looking for a fairly in-depth (I'm unsure of how accurate) character study that isn't overly taxing. Kutcher is great, so is the cinematography, but things take a long time to get going and by the time they do, you may have lost interest.

I give Jobs: 6/10

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...