Review Roundup: First Reviews for Ashton Kutcher's jOBS Film

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Red Touch Media hosted the exclusive jOBS film premiere after party on closing night of the Sundance Film Festival 2013 in Park City, UT on January 25 and now the first reviews are out.

Starring Ashton Kutcher as Apple Inc. luminary Steve Jobs, "jOBS" details the major moments and defining characters that influenced him on a daily basis from 1971 through 2000.

Justin Lowe, The Hollywood Reporter: Playing somewhat like a two-hour commercial covering the first 20 tumultuous years of Apple's development, Joshua Michael Stern's biopic of Steve Jobs is a passably entertaining account of the career of one of the 20th century's great innovators that doesn't break any stylistic ground, hewing closely to public perception of the tech giant.

Germain Lussier, SlashFilm.com: Ashton Kutcher plays the title role and does a good job at making you forget there's a big star under the beard and glasses. It's the script by Matt Whiteley, however, where the cracks begin to show. Jobs [the new official spelling of the title] is so hell-bent on cramming all these seminal moments into one film, it never builds much context around them. We never feel like they mean anything or understand the "why" about the big moments. The film loves to tell us things, but never quite explains any in a satisfactory way.

Vince Horiuchi, Salt Lake Tribune: Kutcher, himself a well-known Silicon Valley impresario in social networks, does competent work of replicating Jobs' moves, from his walk to his wiry, toothless grin. In fact, from the neck up, Kutcher bears a remarkable resemblance to the Apple founder throughout Jobs' career (though Kutcher is much too tall). But what Kutcher can't seem to nail is that spark of creativity and foresight that elevated Jobs to greatness as an entrepreneur.

Eric Kohn, IndieWire.com: From there, 'jOBS' relates the three decades leading up to that triumphant moment, revealing the ups and downs of Jobs' career trajectory with a less rosy perspective. The tone, however, remains oddly consistent: Jobs may barrel forward at the expense of nearly everyone around him, but even while portraying Jobs' ruthless streak, director Joshua Michael Stern maintains a worshipful perspective of his famous subject. The movie is constantly at war with attempts to provide an honest portrayal, almost as if its subject were reaching beyond the grave to steer any negativity back in the direction of a hagiography.

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