Michael - the biopic following the life and career of the late, great Michael Jackson - is exactly as we all should've expected. These kinds of musical biopics are never anything special when done in as boring a way as they usually are and were here. For every interesting concept like Robbie Williams' Better Man or Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, there's another Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, or Bob Marley: One Love.
The cohesive theme with these movies, and what separates the good from the bad, is their tone and uniqueness. Better Man portrayed Robbie Williams as an ape to display his own perception of being a 'performing monkey' as well as his feeling of being 'less evolved'. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story was quite literally a parody of his own life, reflecting the music he makes. I couldn't think of a single thing that represents any of Queen in Bohemian Rhapsody or Michael Jackson in Michael in any sort of interesting or unique way.
I'll start by stating the good - and the obvious. This movie's music is amazing. This was known from the moment this movie was even announced, all the way back in 2022. The moments that we see a live performance or music video are where this movie really shines - and Jaafar Jackson can show off his talent. They allow for a moment of slight, unashamed ego-stroking by the Jackson estate and show off the sheer stardom that Michael showed to the world, as well as his impact on the public. The problem is, if that's the only enjoyment you get out of this movie, why not just queue up a two-hour marathon of real live recordings and music videos on YouTube, to enjoy in the comfort of your own home?
What I think this movie was doing was looking for 'moments'. When the majority of people walk out of the cinema, they're going to remember the Thriller music video or the final scene. While I don't blame you for only thinking back on and talking about the high-intensity, nostalgic moments, what the filmmakers want you to forget is the hour of almost nothing spliced up in between, which obviously works.
The best praise I feel I can confidently give this movie is that we see a lot of subtle ways in which Michael's father, Joseph, damaged him in later life. This was mostly shown through his self-deprecation, in both thinking his nose is too large, and in criticising an unnoticeable error after a performance at the height of his career.
Unfortunately, as much as I hate to criticise the first biopic about The King of Pop, there was a lot of bad in this movie. Firstly, this didn't really feel like it had much going on. We follow Michael Jackson's early career, but it never feels as if there's a tangible enough through line, somewhat even forgetting about a beginning, middle, and end. A lot of the 'story' revolves around Michael desperately trying to break out as a solo artist, with his father constantly trying to drag him back down to The Jackson Five. This could've actually been quite a compelling plot; however, it seems to constantly just go round in circles the entire time, without growing or changing almost at all.
Most of the emotional core rides on the relationship between Michael and his brothers, that being most of what keeps him coming back to his family. However, this relationship is never developed nearly enough, as far as there only being one scene that I can remember with them all together that doesn't involve singing, which is Michael's brothers all playing basketball outside the house. Due to there not being a single scene in which any of them are one-on-one with Michael at any point, we never get any space for any intimacy or vulnerability, completely jeopardising any opportunity for development with any of them. The rest of the Jackson Five tends to act as a unit, rather than being comprised of four other men, each living their own lives - so much so that the absence of Jermaine was never felt, once he decided to stay at Motown Records.
At times, it felt as if the filmmakers were purposely trying to keep Michael as underdeveloped as possible. However, rather than simply not developing him, they'd have one single scene - or even sentence - brushing it away, like when he voiced his concerns about not being able to make friends to his mother. It felt as if they were dangling keys in front of our faces, only to snatch them away once we tried to reach for them.
It's said that part of this movie was originally supposed to follow a very different plotline, involving the allegations involving Michael's relationship with children - however, a majority of the movie had to be reshot to exclude this story, due to a court case from one of the accusers. There's a possibility that this could explain the disjointedness and why Michael felt very underdeveloped, but it doesn't really feel like this could have fit at all. Obviously, those reshoots wouldn't have completely changed the overarching story, themes, or tone of the movie as a whole. This follows specific themes of being quite fun, lighthearted - for the most part - and fast-paced once Michael grows up. It really doesn't feel as if any kind of slowing down for this very serious and hard-hitting topic could have been woven in. If it did, it would only grind the movie to a halt and throw away every bit of pacing from before that point. Not to mention the multiple scenes of Michael around children, which would've inevitably been soured - no matter their stance.
I'm not sure if these allegations were ever really a part of the movie, with it ending almost 20 years before the first allegations would've come around. They may have used this as almost a scapegoat for why they did these reshoots and why it feels somewhat off.
To conclude, while you may very well have a great time if you're simply watching this movie for recreations of iconic moments of Michael Jackson in the public eye, don't expect anything spectacular regarding the rest of the movie and its ability to perform as an actual movie - rather than a 'Michael Jackson best moments' compilation. Also, don't expect Quincy Jones to get the screentime that he deserves.