"The right computer will be a bicycle for the mind".

Rating: 10/10 (2 April 2016)

Of the stuff I've read about Steve Jobs, about his unrelenting drive and disagreeable personality, it seems to be captured here with a fair amount of realism. Michael Fassbender infuses the character of Jobs with a caustic persona that doesn't let up much throughout the story. The few glimpses we get into Jobs' past help the viewer understand some of what drives the passionate genius in one area of his life, and how it undermined his relationships with those closest to him on a personal level. The supporting players here were exceptional, and it was interesting to see how Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet), Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) and John Sculley (Jeff Daniels) managed to go toe to toe with the abusive computer pioneer, in many cases proving after the fact that they were right and he was wrong. Even with what little I know from a technology standpoint, it always seemed intuitive to me that Apple products were limited by their closed architecture, so I have a hard time understanding why the real Jobs refused to acknowledge it. The picture reveals some of the bullheaded stubbornness the man had along those lines, and if one can get past the personal flaws of the title character, the story offers a compelling portrait of a principled man who might have engaged in a bit of humanity along the way.