"jOBS"
stars Ashton Kutcher in the title role and dramatizes selected
highlights of Jobs' life, from his formative months at Reed College to
the 1984 debut of the Macintosh to the triumphant unveiling of the iPod
in 2001. Co-starring Josh Gad ("1600 Penn," "The Book of Mormon") as
business partner Steve Wozniak, the film focuses on Jobs' celebrated
role in pioneering the personal computer.
"Over and over again,
minor characters explain to him why something can't be done;
Kutcher-as-Jobs smiles enigmatically and waves away their concerns," writes Casey Newton for CNET.
"Each time, he speaks of
how the technology Apple is building will improve the lives of average
people. Co-workers argue with him, but they never get anywhere, because
their parts are poorly written and the filmmakers have no interest in
showing their subject being wrong about his work," Newton continues.
"(A)ll Apple failures in
'jOBS' are portrayed as the result of conservative, backward-thinking
executives beholden only to their shareholders. The result is that the
viewer spends two hours watching cardboard cutouts lose arguments to
Ashton Kutcher."
Matthew Panzarino of The Next Web has a more charitable view of the movie.
"There will be those who
will attack the accuracy of the film, and there are plenty of chances to
do so. Significant swaths of technical development of the Macintosh and
Lisa computers are simply not present," he writes.
"But, overall, 'jOBS'
works. ... This isn't going to be the canonical Steve Jobs biography
movie. Honestly, Jobs was such a complex individual that I can't see one
ever being made. But, as an impressionist portrait of a specific period
in his life, it's successful."
Some observers had
questioned Kutcher's ability to portray such a complicated and familiar
figure. But both critics had praise for the actor's performance.
"He throws himself into
the role, inhabiting Jobs in his mannerisms and gestures while doing a
more than creditable impression of the man's voice. Kutcher also
captures Jobs' deliberate, slightly hunched-over walk," writes CNET's
Newton. "At moments, as during an enjoyable sequence in which Jobs
recruits members for the Macintosh team, Kutcher disappears into the
role."
"jOBS" attracted some controversy last week after a scene from the movie was posted on the Internet. In the clip, Jobs raves about the commercial potential of an operating system that Wozniak has created.
"Nobody wants to buy a
computer," says Wozniak. Replies Jobs, "How does somebody know what they
want if they've never even seen it?"
Wozniak told Gizmodo that the scene's characterizations were inaccurate.
"We never had such
interaction and roles," said the Apple co-founder, who has not seen the
whole film. "I'm not even sure what it's getting at ... personalities
are very wrong, although mine is closer."
In response, the filmmakers behind "jOBS" issued a statement saying
the movie "is not a documentary, nor is it meant to be a blow by blow,
word for word account of all conversations and events. ... The
filmmakers acknowledge that not every single thing in the film is a
precise representation of what took place, but is feature film
entertainment."
Steve Jobs died in October 2011 after a long battle with cancer.
"jOBS" is scheduled to open in theaters April 19.
Meanwhile, production is under way on another film about Jobs' life, written by Aaron Sorkin ("The Social Network") and based on Walter Isaacson's best-selling book. Wozniak is a consultant on that film.
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