Jobs

I've always enjoyed films about real life success stories - they are motivating and inspiring.  Even better when people come from nothing to reach the highest levels of success - such was the case for Steve Jobs and Apple computers.

Obviously a lot has changed since but I remember back in school the I.T types like myself were divided into two groups - Microsoft and Mac.   Oh how we mocked the 'Mac' crowd yet how proudly  and stubbornly they defended their beloved Macintosh.  If I remember correctly there was also a strong connection with the Apple lovers and Star Trek compared to the Microsoft crowd and Star Wars.  We waged nerd war!

Anyway, that's enough down memory lane. Back to the movie...

Jobs was a really enjoyable film.  Reading up after watching it there is a lot of hate out there for it.  "Terrible casting!" , "Terrible Acting" , "Glorifying a man made rich by exploiting his employees and their ideas".

I don't agree.

I thought Kutcher was decent as Steve Jobs.  Definitely one of the most in depth roles in his career.  And as for the man himself I think they showed well his darker sides and did not glorify him at all.  He was portrayed as an extremely dedicated and obsessive visionary who would use whoever and whatever to achieve his goals.   As with all entrepreneurs he relied on the technical genius of colleagues to create his products but he was the man with the grand vision.  This tends to be how our world works as the technically minded lack the ability to think on the large scale.  It is a symbiotic relationship.

I really enjoyed watching how the company was built,  starting with manually building boards in his parents garage to creating a global empire.  Would have been an exciting time in those early days.  The first keyboard, the first mouse, the first PC.   An incredible journey.

Jobs may have been an obsessive and cruel prick, so much so he even left behind the original apple founders who started it all with him. However I don't think Apple would exist today if he was not.  He never gave up on his vision. Never lowered his expectations on what they could achieve and always ensured his products were driving the next level of innovation. Anyone who thinks he was not a huge factor in Apple's success is crazy.  The company nearly went to ruin when he was kicked off the board and upon his return he brought it back to an absolute super power again.

Overall, an enjoyable movie about a very interesting guy!

7/10

IMDB Info