On Friday, the independently produced biopic of the late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, titled "jOBS," made its planned debut at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film, starring Ashton Kutcher in the title role, is getting mixed reviews from those that saw it, but most of them give good marks to Kutcher's performance.
The Hollywood Reporter's review of "jOBS" said the movie, which mostly depicts the early days of Jobs and Apple in the '70s and '80s, does not "break any stylistic ground, hewing closely to public perception of the tech giant." Variety said in its review that the movie "embodies the sort of bland, go-with-the-flow creative thinking Jobs himself would have scorned." Entertainment Weekly was more enthusiastic, with the reviewer saying he was "surprised, and often riveted, by what a starkly honest portrait it is."
EW also praised Kutcher, claiming that he was "obviously cast because he looks like Jobs, but who bites into the role with his incisors." The Hollywood Reporter said Kutcher "faithfully re-creates some of his character's physical mannerisms for additional dimensionality." Variety was not quite as convinced in Kutcher's performance, saying that while he both looked the part and tried to imitate Jobs' mannerisms, "the illusion never fully seizes hold."
"jOBS" will be released in U.S. theaters April 19, which also happens to be the 37th anniversary of Apple's founding. It's possible that parts the film could be reshot and/or reedited between now and April to deal with the reactions from Sundance audiences.
Source: Hollywood Reporter | Image via Glen Wilson
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