Chips & Bytes
As Steve Jobs and best friend Steve Wozniak make their way through Berkley they are on the verge of making a huge statement with their Apple computer. Meanwhile at Harvard Bill Gates having discovered the Ed Roberts's MITS Altair drops out to focus on work on the computer and the development of Microsoft despite IBM believing the future was in hardware rather than software. And so the rivalry but also friendship begins.
For years I have heard that "Pirates of Silicon Valley" was the best movie when it came to exploring the world of Apple and Microsoft as well as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. The thing is that when you come to is after watching more recent movies which focus on Apple and the life of Steve Jobs the flaws and the differences in story strike you. For me I have to say that it weakened this movie ever so slightly but not to the point that it completely spoiled it.
But here is the thing about "Pirates of Silicon Valley" and the reason why it still succeeds as an interesting movie, the main characterisations are brilliant. On one hand you have Noah Wyle playing Steve Jobs as laid back hippie but one with killer business acumen making him a bit of a contradiction but an entertaining one. But then you have this equally wonderful performance from Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates making him nerdy and a man who pays attention to the details, yet also a man not adverse to some recklessness.
As you can probably guess "Pirates of Silicon Valley" didn't blow me away and I don't think it was just because I have watched the later movies on Steve Jobs first. I think part of this movie's appeal is for those who went through the 70s at the same age as Gates and Jobs and so get to enjoy the sense of nostalgia which this movie offers up.
What this all boils down to is that "Pirates of Silicon Valley" is certainly an entertaining movie and that is mainly because of the enjoyable performances from Noah Wyle and Anthony Michael Hall. But this movie didn't blow me away like it has others and left me a tiny bit disappointed.
