The first movie reviews of 'jOBS' a biopic based on the life of Steve Jobs are starting to appear online.
Here's some highlights:
TNW: Jobs is an entertaining, if impressionistic, portrait of Steve Jobs as a young man
Kutcher’s Jobs has the hunched, rolling gait of the man, and the kinetic nature of his hands. His flat, piercing stare and clipped delivery works almost perfectly throughout. Even if you’ve spent an enormous amount of time listening to or watching Jobs, you’ll be impressed with his overall performance. There were a few moments where he dropped out of cadence in his speech and such, but the impression that I got on the whole is that he got it right.
...
The lead actors are likable and appear to have put serious effort into getting the spirit of the characters right. The film looks (mostly) good aside from some of what could likely be ascribed to budgetary constraints. And though the director is a tad indulgent here and there, it doesn’t take away from the overall feeling of ‘decent’ that I came away with.
CNET: While "jOBS" fawns over subject, film falls flat
Others will write of the things "jOBS" omits, gets wrong, or simply avoids. My primary disappointment was in how shallow the film felt, given the extensive historical record. In the early days Jobs' co-workers had to wrestle with a man who smelled bad, who cried often, who yelled constantly, who missed deadlines, who overspent his budget by millions. He did it in service of products we love and use daily, and yet his obsessions took a toll on those around him. It also inspired others to do the best work of their lives, pushing themselves further than they ever imagined they can go. There is great drama to be found in all that, but it is not to be found in the saccharine "jOBS."
Cinema Blend: Ashton Kutcher Does Well, But The Movie Fails To Think Different
After 10 days of watching Sundance films that wholly reject traditional Hollywood formulas, it's exhausting to see the work Joshua Michael Stern does here, leaning heavily on an overbearing score and soft lighting and scenes that lay out the film's themes as broadly as a corporate presentation. The Steve Jobs of this movie, who's constantly berating his employees to come up with something better than the status quo, would have hated the pat sentiments and dull direction of jOBS. Apple urged people to think different. jOBS does anything but.
Mercury News:
Kutcher, himself a well-known Silicon Valley impresario in social networks, does competent work of replicating Jobs' moves, from his walk to his wiry, toothless grin. In fact, from the neck up, Kutcher bears a remarkable resemblance to the Apple founder throughout Jobs' career (though Kutcher is much too tall).
But what Kutcher can't seem to nail is that spark of creativity and foresight that elevated Jobs as a great entrepreneur. Most of that fault doesn't lie with Kutcher, but with director Joshua Michael Stern ("Swing Vote"), who never gives his actor the scene that conveys Jobs' soul and creative skill, instead opting to focus on his well-known temper and corporate backstabbing.
SlashFilm: Ashton Kutcher Plays Steve Jobs, But We Don’t Get To Know Steve Jobs
Apple fans are going to be very mixed on Jobs. On one hand here’s the story they’ve been dying to see, on screen, and it looks great. But the film feels slight because it tries to do too much. The effort is there and the film is entertaining, but it’s feels like the PC version of the story instead of the Apple. /Film rating: 5.5 out of 10
CriticWire: Ashton Kutcher Does A Solid Steve in 'jOBS,' But Is This Tame Biopic a Lost Cause From the Start?
As a whole, the movie inevitably suffers from comparison to "The Social Network," another recent biopic about cutthroat tech innovators that's superior in every way. The David Fincher-directed movie burrowed inside the essence of competitive young brilliance and triumphantly explored how inspired minds engage in endless competition. "jOBS" renders the same forces through the Apple founder's ongoing persistence without a modicum of depth. "We gotta risk everything," Jobs tells his team early on. The movie could have taken that advice; the problem with "jOBS" is that it plays too safe. Criticwire grade: C+
The movie is set to hit theaters on April 19th.
Here's some highlights:
TNW: Jobs is an entertaining, if impressionistic, portrait of Steve Jobs as a young man
Kutcher’s Jobs has the hunched, rolling gait of the man, and the kinetic nature of his hands. His flat, piercing stare and clipped delivery works almost perfectly throughout. Even if you’ve spent an enormous amount of time listening to or watching Jobs, you’ll be impressed with his overall performance. There were a few moments where he dropped out of cadence in his speech and such, but the impression that I got on the whole is that he got it right.
...
The lead actors are likable and appear to have put serious effort into getting the spirit of the characters right. The film looks (mostly) good aside from some of what could likely be ascribed to budgetary constraints. And though the director is a tad indulgent here and there, it doesn’t take away from the overall feeling of ‘decent’ that I came away with.
CNET: While "jOBS" fawns over subject, film falls flat
Others will write of the things "jOBS" omits, gets wrong, or simply avoids. My primary disappointment was in how shallow the film felt, given the extensive historical record. In the early days Jobs' co-workers had to wrestle with a man who smelled bad, who cried often, who yelled constantly, who missed deadlines, who overspent his budget by millions. He did it in service of products we love and use daily, and yet his obsessions took a toll on those around him. It also inspired others to do the best work of their lives, pushing themselves further than they ever imagined they can go. There is great drama to be found in all that, but it is not to be found in the saccharine "jOBS."
Cinema Blend: Ashton Kutcher Does Well, But The Movie Fails To Think Different
After 10 days of watching Sundance films that wholly reject traditional Hollywood formulas, it's exhausting to see the work Joshua Michael Stern does here, leaning heavily on an overbearing score and soft lighting and scenes that lay out the film's themes as broadly as a corporate presentation. The Steve Jobs of this movie, who's constantly berating his employees to come up with something better than the status quo, would have hated the pat sentiments and dull direction of jOBS. Apple urged people to think different. jOBS does anything but.
Mercury News:
Kutcher, himself a well-known Silicon Valley impresario in social networks, does competent work of replicating Jobs' moves, from his walk to his wiry, toothless grin. In fact, from the neck up, Kutcher bears a remarkable resemblance to the Apple founder throughout Jobs' career (though Kutcher is much too tall).
But what Kutcher can't seem to nail is that spark of creativity and foresight that elevated Jobs as a great entrepreneur. Most of that fault doesn't lie with Kutcher, but with director Joshua Michael Stern ("Swing Vote"), who never gives his actor the scene that conveys Jobs' soul and creative skill, instead opting to focus on his well-known temper and corporate backstabbing.
SlashFilm: Ashton Kutcher Plays Steve Jobs, But We Don’t Get To Know Steve Jobs
Apple fans are going to be very mixed on Jobs. On one hand here’s the story they’ve been dying to see, on screen, and it looks great. But the film feels slight because it tries to do too much. The effort is there and the film is entertaining, but it’s feels like the PC version of the story instead of the Apple. /Film rating: 5.5 out of 10
CriticWire: Ashton Kutcher Does A Solid Steve in 'jOBS,' But Is This Tame Biopic a Lost Cause From the Start?
As a whole, the movie inevitably suffers from comparison to "The Social Network," another recent biopic about cutthroat tech innovators that's superior in every way. The David Fincher-directed movie burrowed inside the essence of competitive young brilliance and triumphantly explored how inspired minds engage in endless competition. "jOBS" renders the same forces through the Apple founder's ongoing persistence without a modicum of depth. "We gotta risk everything," Jobs tells his team early on. The movie could have taken that advice; the problem with "jOBS" is that it plays too safe. Criticwire grade: C+
The movie is set to hit theaters on April 19th.