Great parts, problematic sum

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2016)

Was waiting for this movie, which can be seen as a 3rd installment in an Aaron Sorkin trilogy about real-life visionaries which includes "Social Network" and "Moneyball". I loved both those movies and thought Steve Jobs the man was perfect subject for another one - he himself seemed like a larger then life character from Sorkin's page.
With a very skillful and versatile director Danny Boyle and great cast what could go wrong?
Actually I was disappointed. All the parts seemed good - acting, direction, music - but it didn't add up. Sorkin dialogue seemed tired, overwrought and sometimes looking like self-parody. The film seemed artificial. Bret Ellis called this film stillborn and I'd say there is a grain of truth in it. I would say the main reason for this film being "less then sum of its parts" is probably Sorkin screenplay. He just didn't get it right this time, it seems.
However the film is engaging and I was surprised how good and sometimes dark the lead performance by Michael Fassbender was - I was surprised how pathological Jobs looked in some moments. Another reviewer compared him to Jake Gyllenhaal in "Nightcrawler" and funny enough there is something to this comparison, which tells you how abnormal Jobs, at least as portrayed in this film, is.
In the end, a good watch, great performances but could have been more.