A unique biopic with a towering Fassbender performance

Rating: 8/10 (25 February 2016)

I'm not sure you can call Steve Jobs a biopic as such (did we really need another Jobs life story?) but it's certainly an intriguing and insightful look at a man and company that changed our future, for better or worse.
Going through countless pre-production changes where at times David Fincher was signed as director and actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale circled the lead role in famed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's story, Steve Jobs ended up falling into the lap of the recently faltering Danny Boyle who along with his cast give the film an energy and vibe not frequently found in such tales.
While those seeking a meaty and extensive look at both the life and times of Steve Jobs and Apple's rise to global dominance will be left wanting by this film, Boyle and Sorkin find success in focusing on pivotal moments in Jobs life that feel like they could be readily transported onto the stage in a film that is more stagey than movie in many respects but Boyle keeps the tension ramped up and come the films conclusion, emotion flowing and with a varied and committed cast Sorkin's words fly off the screen.
Winning the role at seemingly the last minute, Michael Fassbender may barely resemble Jobs physically but after watching Boyle's film it would be hard to image anyone else in the tight jeans and sneakers of Jobs as Fassbender's passion and ability to morph himself into a character allows his turn as Jobs to somehow grow in a fashion that come the film's final set piece will make you forget it is indeed the actor not the man himself standing in front of us. It's a brilliant turn and one that would likely seriously challenge Leonardo DiCaprio at the upcoming Oscars had Boyle's film been better received upon release.
With Fassbender the star of the ensemble there are also noteworthy turns provided by Kate Winslet as Job's offsider Joanna Hoffman, a thankfully dialled back Seth Rogen as the seemingly hard done by Steve Wozniak while Michael Stuhlberg and Jeff Daniels make their mark in somewhat limited screen time.
Held back somewhat by its focus on small yet no doubt significant moments of Jobs life, Boyle's film is a refreshingly unique biopic that feels as though it's been cut very much so from the same cloth as Sorkin's very own The Social Network, heavy on dialogue and reliant on actors to make the story fly.
Thankfully both Sorkin's scripting work and the ensemble lead by an arguably never better Fassbender make Steve Jobs a top notch production and a welcome return to form from Boyle.
4 important "hellos" out of 5