Boyle Biopic Takes On Jobs

The latest biopic on Steve Jobs zeros in on three key moments in his life — right before three product launches, starting in 1984 with the release of the Macintosh, and ending with the unveiling of the iMac. While there have been a few takes on Jobs’ life in various movies in recent years, we’re intrigued by this one’s three-act approach. Plus, the writer-director combo of Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle and the star-studded cast led by Michael Fassbender looks promising. Steve Jobs opens in wide release Oct. 23.

‘STEVE JOBS’ TRAILER REVIEW BY METRO CREW

JAIMIE: As much as I love Danny Boyle, and as semi-interested as I am in this cast, I cannot. I personally am so sick of all the Steve Jobs movies. Part of me feels like it’s too soon — not in a “we need to respect the dead” kind of way. Just that, Steve Jobs was a sort of genius in ways that maybe no one can tap into. I’m not too stoked on the actors they keep picking, either. Especially Ashton Kutcher. Huh, maybe it’s all his fault.

JAMES: I’m looking forward to the dialogue in this movie. Aaron Sorkin, who previously wrote The Social Network and Moneyball, has a knack for conveying the unhinged, rapid-fire, behind-the-scenes boardroom talk where the stakes are high. And with Danny Boyle putting the images to those words, this should be a winner.

CHRISTINA: It seems this film has had a lot of changes — initially David Fincher was set to direct, with Christian Bale as Jobs. I really like both Fincher and Danny Boyle, but I can’t help but wonder what Bale would have been like in the role instead. Although Fass-bender looks pretty incredible.

NICOLE: I think the only thing that I really liked Fassbender in was Inglourious Basterds. I’m not quite sure yet how I feel about Seth Rogan being in this movie, but hey, I’m sure he can make it work. And a small part of me will always find Kate Winslet … gross. I don’t like it when someone’s eyebrow color doesn’t match their hair color. It throws me off, and then that’s all I can see or think about.

JAMES: I think Fassbender will do better at emulating Jobs than Ashton Kutcher, who played Jobs in Jobs. He had a closer resemblance, but it was still Ashton Kutcher. I kept waiting for him to say, “Dude! Where’s my mouse?” Couldn’t see past it. Here, Fassbender isn’t even trying to look like the guy — he’s even got the wrong hair color. But it seems like he can get the core of what a mercurial jerk Jobs was.

JAIMIE: I read part of the Walter Isaacson biography that this film is partially based on, and he was, at least according to what I read, unkempt, antisocial and kind of unhygienic. Like, I think when he was working at Atari or whatever, they made him work a graveyard shift because that is how pleasant and friendly he was.

PAIGE: Don’t you just love biopic-type movies about megalomaniacal geniuses that you hate but also hate to see ruin themselves? And they always ruin themselves, somehow. I love those. The Social Network. The Aviator. The Wolf of Wall Street. Those are great films about genius and ruin.

CHRISTINA: These types of films often seem to come with some sort of commentary about the moral failings of their subject. I don’t know how I feel about that. If you’re that talented, don’t you kind of earn the right to be a miserable person if you want to? If he’s creating all these products, why does he have to go around being Mr. Sunshine?

JAMES: This isn’t apparent in the trailer, but I’ve read that the movie is actually broken into three chapters. Each one takes place backstage, before the unveiling of a new product. The absence of Steve Jobs is starting to be apparent in the more recent iterations of products. So I hope the movie spends some time on the design philosophies that Jobs enforced throughout the company.