Michael: Movie Review

Cast: Jafaar Jackson, Nia Long, Colman Domingo, Laura Harrier
Director: Antoine Fuqua

After much anticipation and amid rumours of substantial reshoots and accusations of fairytale storytelling, the drama of Michael Jackson's life is finally here.

Played by his nephew Jaafar Jackson, the film focuses on Michael's time in the Jackson 5, his relationship with his father (Domingo) and his attempts to break out to become a solo star.

It's perhaps befitting the film starts by blasting out 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' given the controversy and extensive third act reshoots, before racing breakneck speed through Jackson's life from humble beginnings and belt-whuppings from his dad in Gary, Indiana to his own emancipation from the yokel of the tyranny of his father.

In between it all are a plethora of favourite songs from the Jackson oeuvre, performed with gusto by Jafaar and which will no doubt leave fans in ecstasy at their faithfulness.

But here's the rub of the film - not once does it stop to give anything close to depth throughout. It's hagiography, with a splash of biography.

Unless it's to Jackson himself. 

Witness his full-frame close ups as he pines for freedom; take in his Princess Diana-like visiting to other burns victims after the Pepsi commercial leaves him on fire. The list of propaganda-led moments for the little lost boy is endless and yet never quite engaging enough to those looking for depth.

It's perhaps no real surprise that there's puddle-level depth here. At a time when a jukebox musical of his life has gone great guns on Broadway, there's obviously a desire to cash in on the nostalgia and that's what this film does.

But leaping from song to song, while scattering imagery of him reading Peter Pan, fawning over Bubbles and watching Chaplin and cartoons does not great insight provide.

And barely anyone except for Domingo's Joseph and Michael himself get any substantial time in a cursory screenplay that's more perfunctory than enlightening.

Depressingly, Michael will be massive and its penchant for avoiding the later controversies in his life smacks of woeful family intervention shaping his legacy.

The film ends with three words: His story continues. It's a James Bond-style coda (or threat) that promises more to come, but unless the full story is told (which is unlikely given legal documents and decisions), this shaping and distorting of the truth by the Jackson estate leaves a sour taste - no matter how impressive Jackson and Domingo's performances are.