Steve Jobs - Film Review

Steve Jobs is a biographical drama film based on the real life entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Incorporated, Bill Gates. It’s based on the biography of the same name and directed by Danny Boyle with Aaron Sorkin writing the screenplay. The film is basically about Steve Jobs just being an arsehole, I haven’t looked into the real Steve Jobs so I have no idea how accurate this portrayal is but Steve Jobs the character is definitely a prick! We’re shown three different points of his life right before he’s due to give speeches at a conference unveiling his products and amidst these announcements we learn about the drama of his personal life. 

I went into this expecting something along the lines of The Social Network which Aaron Sorkin also wrote the screenplay for and there are definitely similar elements to them both particularly the fast paced dialogue and the fact that they’re both about a fairly unlikeable entrepreneurial type. I really enjoyed The Social Network it’s probably one of my favourite David Fincher films, Steve Jobs on the other hand is probably my least favourite Danny Boyle film and I’m not really a Danny Boyle fan to begin with. I respect the craft but I just don’t like his style and that wasn’t even the problem with Steve Jobs it’s the fact that there’s nothing to be invested in.  

 There’s no introduction to the character, when the film starts it’s literally like we’re mid-way through the story and just thrown into a scene mid-conversation, there’s no set-up or build at all and it’s never justified, it just felt like a piece of a film. After that it never quite found its footing with me and I can’t figure out what we’re supposed to be invested in, Steve Jobs is just this self-righteous piece of shit who’s rude to everyone and expects everyone to bend over backwards for him, he doesn’t care about anyone and he’s not particularly interesting either so there’s nothing to keep you interested, me at least I was falling asleep!  

Like I say there’s no development, we’re shown stages of his life and he’s exactly the same in all of them, so is everyone else for that matter they all run around like slaves for him and seem to have his back but why? It’s never explained or earned so it doesn’t feel justified, I didn’t buy into any of these relationships. I went into this knowing very little about Steve Jobs and I came out of it knowing very little about Steve Jobs, all I learned from the film is that he was some sort of important spokesman for Apple and that he was a terrible father, that’s it. 

Whereas the dialogue in The Social Network was sharp and revealing the dialogue here felt like nothing but massive chunks of exposition that I’d have to read the biography or do hours of research to understand! Honestly I found this hard to get through, maybe I’m just tired but I was so fucking bored, it felt like nothing even happened as well, it’s just Michael Fassbender talking quickly and being an awful human being to his friends and family for two hours, the wonderment of technological advancement and all that is lost here as well, he talks about it but you never feel it, it’s just a chore to sit through.

The performances were all good enough I suppose, Fassbender was a bit one note but I liked Kate Winslett, she was the closest thing the movie had to a heart and Seth Rogan was good too, there’s just not enough of a story here, it’s visually generic, I hated the score and ultimately I can’t think of any recreational reason to give it your time, so based on all of that I’m not going to recommend it, I will however recommend The Social Network so if you haven’t seen that give it a watch, as for Steve Jobs I’m gonna give it 5/10 and advise you to keep moving, until next time Steemians! 

What did you think of The Social Network?