The biopic Jobs hits theaters tomorrow August 16, but already reviews for the Steve Jobs movie are rolling in. It’s safe to say that most of the world is captivated by the story of the co-founder of Apple Inc. as he almost single-handedly revolutionized not only the way we engage with technology, but the tech industry as a whole. But does that mean it has the makings for a blockbuster film?
Early reviews courtesy of both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB are polarizing, as proponents hail the film as accurately depicting the trajectory of both Steve Jobs and Apple, as well as the emotion and vision the former poured into the latter. However, the harshest of critics accuse the film and its filmmakers of missing the mark with Jobs, failing to portray what exactly went through the mind of the late, great titular visionary as his own self-inflictions affected both his relationship with loved ones and with the empire he built.
But to me that’s the beauty of the film and I haven’t even seen it yet. Steve Jobs was as multifaceted as the gadgets conceived in his versatile mind, and despite a comprehensive best-selling biography and imminent feature film both of his namesake, none of us will ever know exactly what made the heart of this revolutionary tick. Cue the artistic license.
Check out the latest trailer for Jobs, hits theaters tomorrow, and early reviews below:
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: “Watching Jobs, with its basic warts-and-all accuracy and shrewd, unsweetened performance by Ashton Kutcher (who was obviously cast because he looks like Jobs, but who bites into the role with his incisors), I was surprised and frequently compelled by what a starkly honest portrait it is.”
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: “Genius, according to Kutcher’s bland performance, is a matter of pursing your lips, pausing, speaking deliberately and arrogantly and reading every line as if you already know the retort, because you are Steve Jobs and therefore an omniscient god. Kutcher has the circular eyewear and the dreamy gait down pat. Each time he serves up a conspicuous, dismissive hand gesture, you think: Yes, I seem to remember seeing the real Jobs doing something like that on camera”
Justin Lowe, The Hollywood Reporter: “Playing rather like a two-hour commercial covering the first 20 tumultuous years of Apple’s development, Joshua Michael Stern’s biographical look Steve Jobs is a passably entertaining account of the career of one of the 20th century’s great innovators that breaks no new stylistic ground and hews closely to the public perception of the tech giant.”
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: “The film doesn’t seem particularly interested in assessing Jobs’ impact on how we live our lives now, nor does it get us any closer to understanding or appreciating the man himself.”
