Steve Jobs (2015)

Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac. (IMDb)

Artfully filmed, the pre-product launch setting blends nicely the personal and vocational aspects of Jobs’ life (though it does start to feel a little contrived the third time around), adds a thrilling sense of urgency to the proceedings (highlighted by a barrage of whip-cracking dialogue), and makes for a uniquely and appreciably focused biopic that aims to capture his character instead of his whole life story (it certainly hits its mark, but its focus is compromised a bit with the flashbacks).

7.5/10 (Really Good)

Jobs (2013)

The story of Steve Jobs’ ascension from college dropout into one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century. (IMDb)

The corporate growth story and related business drama here are engaging (despite the big time jumps), but they’re broken up by character sub-plots that are too inconsistent and riddled with contrived dialogue to resonate much, even with Kutcher’s strong lead turn. And when you consider the oft-unpleasant colouring and bad editing full of try-hard montages of spastic camerawork, vague inspirational voiceovers, and meaningless scene splices, the good plot points become hard to hold onto.

6.0/10