the blog is not really a review, the movie, jobs is really just a trigger to something I have wanted to write about for a some time.
I have written about Apple before, couple of times before hand, and well Apple is one of those things I have been passionate about since the first time I held an iPhone in my hands. But I kinda realize now that I was really passionate about what Jobs created, and not really Apple, because, sadly, Apple without Jobs is not the same. As much as he tried to make a company which would stand on its own, doesn't seem he succeeded, and as someone recently said, we have seen this before, when Jobs left (or kicked out) last time around.
anyways, the movie first, I had read the unflattering reviews, and well was not too keen on watching it, but then, not watching it was a thought which an ardent Apple fan(boy) would never get. And that really why I have become the Apple fanboy instead of just an Apple fan, reminds me of a cartoon someone sent me long time back, of a fanboy chanting Apple in the face of all evidence...well more about that later.
Jobs the movie, one thing is for sure, Jobs the person wouldn't have let Jobs the movie out if he were alive. Kutcher, well he tried really hard, and almost fooled you in the first couple of scenes. For the first few seconds, I was amazed of how well he portrayed Jobs, but then he opens his mouth, and there is that unmistakable Kutcher accent n style, and slowly you start recognizing the Kutcher in Jobs in almost every scene. Lets be fair here, if this was a biopic about anyone else, and I would have said that Kutcher has done a brilliant job, but then for someone as demanding of perfection as Jobs, perfection was required from Kutcher. One of the things that might have also happened is that the first few scenes raised expectations so much that the rest of the movies you just noticed the differences (and exaggerations in the gait). Anyways, he did do a good job, and so did most of the case. I think casting Kutcher for jobs was a really good job, Kutcher is young, is invested in Technology in the Valley, and so understands the business and people. Casting as a whole was great.
As for the movie, well don't think any movie can do justice to Jobs's story, As I was telling ado, for some people who have lived such full lives, multi part television series would have been more appropriate. In any case the movie tried to capture how big an asshole he could be, and how he was a genius in the true sense, his complications and his contradictions, but well it didn't do a really good job. Issacson's book on the other hand, lays it out so well, and in such details, that if you have read the book, then the movie just seems incomplete. I also think that one of the reasons you can't really judge Jobs, one of the reasons you can't really make him a villain or a hero, one of the reasons you sympathize with him even when you hate him for the things he has done is because he was very random, and there many times might not have been any reasons, thought out reasons, behind a lot of his actions. They might just be spur of moment reactions, to which he had to stick because of his arrogance. Lisa I think was one of those.
So Jobs the movie was, if not a disaster, surely not something Jobs would have approved off, lets hope the Aaron Sorkin one is better. They are sitting on it, it seems which is good, because one of the things i have learnt from Jobs is not to release something till you love it, and are proud of it to the point that you dream about it. Ofcourse, many times waiting so long just makes a product irrelevant, but then Apple usually released products which didn't exist, and so could set both the times and playing rules.
Guess am losing focus, another thing Jobs won't approve of.
On a side note, since the name Jobs was already taken, am wondering if it will be named iSteve or iJobs.
So Apple, since I have written so much bull about Jobs, lets keep Apple short.
When Jobs suddenly departed, I was hopeful, he must have left a vision for next three years, and surely Apple has a host of other brilliant people. Surely the company will not just survive, but will be as brilliant. And I kept that faith till just a few months back, till the time iOS 6 was announced. To tell the truth, my reaction to iOS 6.0 was of euphoria...it looked fresh, and well secretly, Apple finally released something new, but then over a period of time I realized, I had become on of those MS fans, who boasted about features which have been present in Apple products for ages. In this case, most of the stuff in iOS 6.0 was already present in Android for atleast 2-3 versions. And then I realized, one of the reasons I loved Apple was because they were different, yes the skeuomorphic design was a bit too much, and many times unnoticeable, but then it was different. And it was like those really expensive rugs which looked like they were bought from a road side shop, but then you realized that they were a hundred years old or were make with an 1000 knots per square inch where as your norman rug was just 50. The value of the product was in knowing that someone somewhere had spent a lot of resources and time to get it perfect, to make their vision of it become reality. As Jobs used to say, the value was because you knew it was as beautiful inside as it was on the outside. Android doesn't have that, no one has spent hours and hours making it perfect, it is a work of iterations, released because of market pressure. Apple products are not and thats what set them apart, made them superior. The feel of the product, in addition to of course the product itself.
and that is why I think Apple without Jobs won't be the same, is not the same. It has brilliant people, but so does everyone, what it had was a person who was so passionate about his vision that he didn't even realized he was becoming an asshole defending it, a person who was defined by his products and not by who he was personally, a person who was arrogant enough to follow his vision to the hilt, who didn't care about what people thought of him. That takes balls, or as in this case, complete ignorance, which was the case with Jobs.
And thats why one of my regrets, and there are many, will be that I never saw him in person, because I have never met someone like that, someone who lives life on his terms. Some people have come close, all of them have made a name for themselves, but none have gone to the heights as Jobs, maybe because none was so pure in his vision. and frankly Jobs was not a 100% either, but as much as there has been till now.
and to all those who think I finally have given up on Apple, well, just because they are not as brilliant doesn't mean they are still not better then your product, be it android or windows. Just take a look at the new Mac Pro if you need an example.
laters.
PS - unreviewed posting, might review later...too sleepy today. (thinking at the back of mind that Jobs would never have posted this today, unreviewed. :) )
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