Not perfect but its pace and scale makes for an engaging and intriguing character piece

Rating: Null/10 (2 July 2016)

There is a certain irony (or perhaps deliberate synergy) in terms of how this film is constructed, and the subject it delivers. The focus is Steve Jobs, and we follow him in a three-stage film mostly spent backstage ahead of various product launches. We see products which are not quite as good as they are ready to be, being launched with a lot of energy and promotion. The same could be said of the film itself, because on the content level there is perhaps not as much to connect to as it may seem at first. Sorkin does his usual thing as writer – keeping everything moving quickly and with energy so that it is easy to get caught up in the pace. The script does deliver an engaging character piece, but there is not a great deal of reason to care about it – more to be intrigued by it.
Despite this the film does work really well for what it is. The operatic scale and pace of the film is one of the main reasons for this; it sweeps across the years and uses flashback snippets to inform to good effect. The energy from this draws the viewer into the film, but it is the performances that keeps us there. Fassbender is brutal in his depiction; very on point throughout and plays the character in line with the writing. The support is just that, but still Winslet, Daniels, Rogan, and others all provide a strong base of performances for the lead to play off against.
It is not a perfect film by any means, but in its pace and scale it makes for an engaging and intriguing character piece.