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Original, Entertaining History
Pros
Pretty accurate portrayal of history, must see for the tech savvy
Cons
Bit short (96 minutes), seems a little biased against the industry
Recommended it?
Yes
When the movie originally aired on TNT last year, I thought it was remotely interesting and taped it to watch later. However, I turned on the TV to see what it was like, and ended up watching it twice more that night since it was on three times in a row. Quite simply put, it is an awesome movie and anyone who is interested in computers or history will appreciate the story behind it.
The casting provides a great base for the plot. Noah Wyle is perfect for Steve Jobs, giving life to his hippy ideals and his harsh temper. Anthony Michael Hall, playing Bill Gates, also did a wonderful job. His portrayal of the world's most famous nerd is definitely good - capturing his awkwardness as well as his ability to manipulate people.
More importantly, though, the movie gives truth and fame to a story that most people don't know or understand. The script may take liberties at times, but there are very few and the gist of the story is true history. Not only does it call attention to some of the less known figures who helped build these companies (Woz for Apple, and Ballmer and Paul for Microsoft), but it also shows both of the companies equally. Many people today think that Apple was the innocent company who got crushed by an evil Microsoft, but as the movie shows they are both equally manipulative and corrupt.
As always, though, there are those parts that detract from everything else. First, the movie starts off looking like it will be a boring documentary, the trap I almost fell into when I first turned the movie on. At times, Woz or Ballmer's character will 'step out' of the movie and talk about something from a narrative view. While this is interesting when it is used later on in the movie, Woz's first narrative only minutes into the film could turn away a lot of viewers who might catch the movie starting on TV. Don't be mistaken - it gets much better.
Finally, the story seems a bit incomplete. While the movie was written before the judicial battle that Microsoft is currently involved in, the movie ends when Jobs is fired from Apple (except a short scene with the press conference where Jobs announces Microsoft owns a portion of Apple). Since it is a relatively short movie, especially considering that more are becoming extremely long these days (Magnolia and the Green Mile were both over 3 hours), it could have at least touched on the issue of the browser war between Netscape and Microsoft.
Despite this, the movie is definitely worth seeing. If you like computers, this is one of a kind - education and entertainment rolled into one. Even if you're not interested in computers, Jobs' battle with drugs and his girlfriend are interesting, and the antics of nerds like Woz and Gates can't help but force a few laughs. Face it, there's stuff out there that's a lot worse than this.
The casting provides a great base for the plot. Noah Wyle is perfect for Steve Jobs, giving life to his hippy ideals and his harsh temper. Anthony Michael Hall, playing Bill Gates, also did a wonderful job. His portrayal of the world's most famous nerd is definitely good - capturing his awkwardness as well as his ability to manipulate people.
More importantly, though, the movie gives truth and fame to a story that most people don't know or understand. The script may take liberties at times, but there are very few and the gist of the story is true history. Not only does it call attention to some of the less known figures who helped build these companies (Woz for Apple, and Ballmer and Paul for Microsoft), but it also shows both of the companies equally. Many people today think that Apple was the innocent company who got crushed by an evil Microsoft, but as the movie shows they are both equally manipulative and corrupt.
As always, though, there are those parts that detract from everything else. First, the movie starts off looking like it will be a boring documentary, the trap I almost fell into when I first turned the movie on. At times, Woz or Ballmer's character will 'step out' of the movie and talk about something from a narrative view. While this is interesting when it is used later on in the movie, Woz's first narrative only minutes into the film could turn away a lot of viewers who might catch the movie starting on TV. Don't be mistaken - it gets much better.
Finally, the story seems a bit incomplete. While the movie was written before the judicial battle that Microsoft is currently involved in, the movie ends when Jobs is fired from Apple (except a short scene with the press conference where Jobs announces Microsoft owns a portion of Apple). Since it is a relatively short movie, especially considering that more are becoming extremely long these days (Magnolia and the Green Mile were both over 3 hours), it could have at least touched on the issue of the browser war between Netscape and Microsoft.
Despite this, the movie is definitely worth seeing. If you like computers, this is one of a kind - education and entertainment rolled into one. Even if you're not interested in computers, Jobs' battle with drugs and his girlfriend are interesting, and the antics of nerds like Woz and Gates can't help but force a few laughs. Face it, there's stuff out there that's a lot worse than this.
