Documentary Review: STEVE JOBS: ONE LAST THING (2011)

While binging documentaries, I came across one, (of countless many) that was about the innovator and creative genius Steve Jobs. There seems to be an unnerving amount of fascination with this person and his real life story, because this isn’t the first documentary about him. Coincidentally, there are even multiple bio-pics about the man, the first of which was ‘Jobs’ starring Ashton Kutcher as the man himself, which you can read about more in my Review here. There is also an upcoming Michael Fassbender film about the life of Steve Jobs. But before all that, read on for my Review of the documentary ‘Steve Jobs: One Last Thing’.

Rating:

Almost everyone knows about who Steve Jobs is, some even know about the tumultious ups and downs of his career and personal life of the man who created and revolutionized Apple. While a Documentary is supposed to objectively examine the accomplishments and controversies of its subject, ‘One Last Thing’ comes off almost as an internal Corporate video meant to subtly bash the subject.

The segments of the Documentary focuses on different elements of Steve Jobs’ life and the title cards that appear during each segment comes off as a sub-par imitation of an Apple Keynote video; reeking of tacky Movie Maker graphics. There are also elements of the narration where the serious statements are undermined with use of casual slang words like ‘hippie’, that make the entire thing feel less like a formal Documentary of the life of a person, and more like someone gossiping about that person to friends.

legends together…

‘One Last Thing’ does boast some good interviews by people closest to Jobs, but nothing out the ordinary for people who already know all about Jobs’ life. There is great unseen footage of Jobs that provides some insight into his mindset, as well as clips of an interview he did with Bill Gates. The details about his friendship and rivalry with Gates are probably the most revealing into his life that this documentary manages to provide, when compared to the Kutcher movie.

As far as Documentaries go, ‘Steve Jobs: One Last Thing’ comes off as an unprofessionally made one that stumbles into almost pedestrian filmmaking, casually bashing the subject of its own film, through implied conclusions and hearsay. The narration throughout provides no interesting information, rather than just acting as a paraphrasing of the interviews we just witnessed. The bio-pic ‘Jobs’, for all its flaws, provides a more dramatic and objective look into Jobs’ life and career, despite having huge holes in its execution and portrayal of the character. So if you want to know more about Steve Jobs and his accomplishments and character flaws, skip this Documentary and take a look at Ashton Kutcher in ‘Jobs’. At least until the Danny Boyle directed ‘Steve Jobs’ releases with Michael Fassbender as the titular character.

Get ‘Steve Jobs: One Last Thing’ On Amazon

Get ‘Jobs’ On Amazon