Jobs (Movie Review)

Jobs is a 2013 film starring Ashton Kutcher as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. The film gives recounts of many pivotal moments throughout the entrepreneurs life during the 70s and 80s and is a powerful film with some good acting performances as well. Ashton Kutcher pulls off one of his best performances of his career as Jobs, while Josh Gad is equally impressive as Jobs' Apple partner, Steve Wozniak. Jobs suffers from having a protagonist that is very unlikeable throughout the entire film, and this makes it tough for viewers to ever establish a really strong connection with the main character or root him on for the sake of his own success. Luckily, there are more than enough interesting characters in the film to keep viewers interested for the rest of the film, though Jobs is likely a film that will be watched and never seen again by most fans.


The film begins with an aged Ashton Kutcher giving a speech as Steve Jobs introducing the iPod for the first time. Apple is a hugely successful business as we all know, so the action then shifts to the early 70s with the college dropout Steve Jobs running from one class to another without paying for his higher level of education while also doing drugs, cheating on his girlfriend and performing other tasks that puts a sour taste in viewers mouths from the get go. Jobs doesn't become any less of an asshole as the film progresses and he begins using his friend Steve Wozniak as a way to get ahead in life while working at Atari. The early scenes between the two Steves are some of the most interesting parts of the entire film, but the film begins losing steam as soon as Apple begins having any sort of success and viewers learn that success didn't do anything for Jobs' aggressive attitude. Jobs is an entertaining watch but hardly something viewers will want to recommend to friends and family.

Viewers will likely continue watching Jobs even after the film becomes less interesting just to see how the relationships between Steve Jobs and his friends changes over time. The development of projects such as the Lisa word processor and Macintosh computers are hardly as interesting as seeing how Jobs chooses to reward his friends that helped him found the Apple company out of his garage or to see how bringing in an important member to the Apple team completely changes the company's outlook. All of these struggles go a long way in establishing a powerful message that people can do anything they set their mind to as long as they remain passionate about what they are hoping to achieve. This combined with some great acting performances helps make Jobs a much better film than the source material the script is created from.

In the end, Jobs isn't a fantastic movie, but it is one that is worth a watch while the film remains popular. It's an interesting film to discuss with friends and family, but it's also easily forgettable and will rarely be mentioned by the end of next year. Fans should give the film a rent or catch it in a cheap theater. Fans that want to learn more about Steve Jobs, his life and his career will likely learn more by reading an encyclopedia page on the subject than watching the film, and it will save two hours as well. Look for Jobs on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming online today.

Jobs is now available on DVD, Blu-ray and Video on Demand. Jobs is rated PG-13 by the MPAA. For more information on the film, check out the official Jobs website.

Movie Features:
Release Date: August 13, 2013 (DVD Release: November 26, 2013)
Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Running Time: 128 Minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney, Ahna O'Reilly & Lukas Haas

Score: 5 out of 10