In his Michael movie review, SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne says that while the performances and casting are good, the film falls flat.
In recent years, we’ve been treated to a buffet of biopics about the biggest names in sports and entertainment—Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Amy Winehouse, Queen, Chrissy Martin, and Mark Kerr. But none of these films were as highly anticipated as Michael, the film about the life and career of Michael Jackson, the most popular solo artist of all time, who left fans all over the world crying and passing out almost at will.
Now, the early trailers for the film didn’t do much to build anticipation. With some of the acting looking somewhat subpar and the makeup looking fake, the bar was low. But as more trailers were released, it started to look like a film that could be worthy of the King of Pop, and in the end, it almost was. While the film isn’t terrible, there’s also the sense that something is missing—a little seasoning. It’s good, but falls slightly short of what fans might expect for a film about a star of Michael Jackson’s magnitude.
The film begins with Bad era Michael Jackson as he quickly flashes back to his tough upbringing in Gary, Indiana. While Michael is a coming-of-age film about his rise from humble beginnings to global superstar, it’s also about his journey from a boy to a man who is finally able to stand on his own two feet.
The film captures the people and events that would shape his life and career, from his the creation of Thriller, the introduction of the Moonwalk, and his introduction to prescription painkillers, to his relationships with Motown head Berry Gordy, his frequent collaborator Quincy Jones, his security guard and “second father” Bill Bray, his lawyer and business advisor John Branca (who still oversees the Michael Jackson Estate and The Michael Jackson Company today), and of course, his pet chimpanzee Bubbles. Unfortunately, some of the key moments in his career feel glossed over instead of really taking us into his process and psyche as he approached these moments. In fact, his whole childhood and early days at Motown feel rushed, and aside from a nice scene with Latoya, the dynamics of his relationship with his siblings is completely lacking. Instead, they gave attention to Jackson’s relationship with his mother as his source of safety and security which was a bright spot in the film.
It does have some impressive performances from its stars, especially Jaafar Jackson who makes his major acting debut in the film. Aside from a few rare moments where the makeup looked a bit off, Jackson transforms into his uncle, from his subtle mannerisms to his onstage movements; especially his onstage movements. Most of us have seen our fair share of Michael Jackson impersonators. After all, Michael has given us some of the most memorable dance moves and performances in the history of entertainment. But no one has come as close to becoming Michael as Jaafar Jackson does in this movie, especially during the performance sequences. Let’s be honest, there’s probably nobody on planet Earth who could do Michael Jackson justice in the way we’d expect. With that being said, Jaafar’s performance is impressive.
Coleman Domingo and Nia Long also transform into Joe and Katherine Jackson, from their makeup, facial expressions, and hair to the way they walk. Overall, the film was excellently casted, but again, something is still missing. There’s a sense that the writers and producers could’ve gone deeper. There’s a lack of real vulnerability in this film; a missed opportunity to be raw and unfiltered with the obstacles Michael faced, especially with his father in his adult years. A lot of the scenes feel emotionless. This film is a prime example of why family members are often times not the best people to tell a star’s story. There might be some resistance to really “going there” and painting people and events as bad as they really were, which this film appears to do.
There are also some gaping holes and omissions. For one, Janet Jackson, the second most famous member of the Jackson family, is missing both as a character and executive producer. She reportedly declined to be involved due to concerns about the story and previous family issues with the estate. The film also ends in his Bad era prior to any of his controversies, although there are indications that a sequel covering the remainder of his story is planned for the future. We’ve never seen a sequel for a biopic ever, but if anyone is worthy of that treatment, it’s MJ.
Although we’re missing those layers to the story, the film still shows some of the obstacles he faced, including the kind of watered down abuse he experienced from his father (especially as he got older), his almost life threatening burn accident, as well as his battle with vitiligo. It also has some interesting details like Michael embracing his blackness and the barriers he still faced as a Black artist despite his success, his competitive relationship with Prince (which we needed more of), him using his platform to bring together Bloods and Crips in L.A., as well as his Jehovah’s Witness faith which he inherited from his mother.
But what’s most impressive is about the man himself is Michael Jackson, the visionary and architect, which we see in this film (although there was another missed opportunity to include the famous letter he wrote to himself in 1979 where he envisioned the star he’d become). Jackson was a student of entertainment, inspired by those who came before him, including the likes of Fred Astaire and James Brown which we see in the film. Jackson meticulously crafted a mysterious persona and cultivated a vision of being the greatest of all time. Today, we would call that “manifesting”. What Jackson may have lacked in the traditional sense of masculinity and manhood, he made up for with his sense of vision, ambition, and work ethic which were unmatched.
While Michael kind of falls flat and is far from the greatest all time when it comes to biopics, with its performances from Jackson, Long, and Domingo, there’s still enough for Michael Jackson fans to enjoy.
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