Comparing "Steve Jobs" vs. "Jobs", and the winner is...

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2015)

"Steve Jobs" (2015 release; 122 min.) is the latest movie about Steven Jobs. As the movie opens, we see archive TV footage of Arthur C. Clarke describing how he think the computer will dominate life in 2001. We then switch to "1984, Cupertino, CA, Macintosh Launch", where we see Jobs arguing with everyone to get the voice demo fixed. "It needs to say Hello, because it can", Jobs observes. At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from director Dannie "Slum Millionaire" Boyle, with a script from Aaron "The Social Network" Sorkin. The movie credits note that this is "Based on the book Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson", but it is more accurate to say this is loosely inspired by the book, as the movie is almost nothing like the book. In fact, the movie only has three specific 'chapters' (the Macintosh launch in 1984, the NeXT box launch in 1988, and the iMac launch in 1998), although certain other pivotal moments are brought in flashbacks. The impression created by Doyle and Sorkin is that Jobs was an impossible guy to deal with, refusing to recognize his daughter Lisa (even though there was a 94% certainty he was her dad), for whom in the end "the product" was everything, to the exclusion of anything else. I have no idea whether this is a correct reflection of Jobs, or an exaggerated one. But it makes for a heck of a movie. I must admit I was skeptical going in whether this was a good movie, but I was sadly mistaken. Michael Fassbinder is outstanding as Steve Jobs (even while lacking the physical resemblance), and maybe even better is Kate Winslet, virtually unrecognizable as Joanna Hoffman, Steve's confidant at the company. I thought Seth Rogen was equally fine as Steve Wozniak. Last but not least, there is a terrific soundtrack, courtesy of up-and-coming movie composer Daniel Pemberton. (There are also a number of Dylan songs, including "Shelter From the Storm" over the movie's end titles, reflecting Jobs' admiration for Dylan.) A few years ago there was a movie called "Jobs" (starring Ashton Kutchner), which is a very different movie altogether. It is a more traditional bio-pic, while "Steve Jobs" is anything but that. "Jobs" was readily dismissed as lightweight even by those who hadn't seen it, in part because of Kutchner, and that is a real shame, as he gave the performance of his life in that role, and it is a interesting movie. That said, having seen both movies, it is now clear to me that of the two, "Steve Jobs" is the better movie, period. But I would encourage you to seek out "Jobs" if you haven't seen it yet.
"Steve Jobs" expanded nationally this weekend, and the early evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended nicely, but was by no means a sell-out. From all I can tell, the audience really liked the movie, and I think with strong word-of-mouth. "Steve Jobs" will do quite well, also when the award nomination season starts later this year and into early 2016. Jobs was a one-of-a-kind person, and this movie certainly does not shy away from showing the lesser side of Jobs. "I'm poorly made", admits Jobs. "Steve Jobs" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!