In terms of modern day icons, Steve Jobs is easily one of the most well known.  The most fascinating thing about him is his company’s tendency to push the boundaries and reinvent the standards each and every time. Unfortunately, the first film to chronicle his life (though technically, Justin Long starred in a comical biopic prior to this movies release) falls short of reaching the heights of Job’s ingenuity.

Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) is a rebel, who follows his rules and no one else’s. When his buddy Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad) shows him an invention that would become the computer monitor, Jobs is entranced. The duo decide to present what they perceive to be the future of the world. Soon, they start up a company, begin rivalries, and the man called Steve Jobs becomes an icon.

Look, I know people thought it was amazing that Ashton Kutcher looked like Steve Jobs in his younger days, but that kind of thinking shouldn’t be put into casting this kind of biopic. Prosthetics and makeup could make Rob Schneider look like Ronald Reagan if they really tried; what matter’s is the acting ability and Kutcher falls short of that standard. Admittedly, he is working outside of his comfort zone, but he never conveys depth to the character or ever truly owns the character or the screen. What Daniel Day-Lewis and Jesse Eisenberg brought to the table when they portrayed Abraham Lincoln and Mark Zuckerberg, the kind of riveting personality that makes you reexamine the people they’re portraying, isn’t just lacking here; it doesn’t even exist at all.

On the other hand, Josh Gad brings a sense of loss as Wozniak, a man who begins to feel nostalgic for when it was just him and Jobs trying to change the world. He brings some emotional heft the film needs, especially since it’s saddled with a script that feels like it dwells too much time on certain subjects (Jobs early years at the company and then re-entry into the company in the 90’s) and just ignores things entirely (I mean, not even a mention of how Steve Jobs bought a little company called PIXAR in 1986?).  Adding that and a director who makes some of the more bizarre shots and angle choices in recent cinema and this film winds up being the whole definition of missed opportunity.

“Jobs” wants so badly to become the definitive Steve Jobs film, that I feel a little sorry having to be so harsh on it. But it’s weak script and a poor lead hold it back from being great cinema. Despite some good actors (good to see James Woods and Brett Gelman in new movies) and a couple of emotionally powerful moments, “Jobs” feels like the kind of underdeveloped and shoddy product Steve Jobs himself wouldn’t have let his company release.