Jobs

Steve Wozniak says that he was extremely disappointed to see the end product i.e. Jobs.  Now there are several different schools of thought that are on line but I for one seem to be more inclined towards Shri Wozniak’s assessment of the situation.  What he says for sure is that Ashton Kutcher could replicate the mannerisms very well.  On that point I am not sure whether I can agree or not.

I tried to search the www for some video where I could find the original Steve Jobs walking.  I did find one eventually.  Shot by an amateur fan but showed Jobs’ gait from the back side.  So I cannot come to a conclusion if Steve Jobs knocked knees that made him look like a someone bobbing was actually an exaggeration on the part of Ashton Kutcher or genuinely how he used to walk.

There are so many occasions throughout the 2+ hours that you are left wondering if the mannerisms were indeed so extreme.  The pursing of the lips.  The pregnant pauses between statements.  All of them looked just a tad over the top to me. (Make mental note to check with good friend Vishal Bhalla who is as insane a Jobs fan as I have met).  As if Ashton Kutcher wants the Oscar so badly for this that he tried too hard.

To be fair on Ashton Kutcher, he is a director’s actor and that’s probably where the makers of Jobs really got it wrong.  Joshua Michael Stern (director) and Matt Whiteley (writer) are not the most experienced kids on the block.  And it showed.  The script was flat all the way through to the end.  There were some moments but they seem more forced than natural.  The intensity that one would have expected was just not there.

One can benchmark David Fincher in Social Network to get a better comparative.  Stern doesn’t come remotely close to the way Fincher grabs you and keeps you riveted to the screen.  The use of editing is something that Fincher has grown to master and that’s one thing Stern could have taken away for Jobs.  The movie is a bit too stretched and never really builds momentum.

All is not bad per se.  The story is balanced in terms of showing Jobs’ passionate approach to the business and design.  At the same time, there is the bad boy image painted of not accepting his first daughter Lisa, of being too obsessed with perfection and therefore taking Apple to the brink of bankruptcy and of course his show down with John Sculley (Pepsi).

Overall, Jobs lands up being an above average flick that could have delivered so much more than what it eventually did.  The personality of Steve Jobs and his legacy have offered this world much more than what was shown.  Apparently there is another project afoot on the same topic.  Lets see if that shows us some better execution.  6 on 10.  Actually as good a watch as Kick Ass 2.  Weird no?

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2922490137/?ref_=tt_ov_vi