Editor’s Note: This story includes mention of potentially triggering situations, such as child abuse.
Dubbed the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson has been known as one of the biggest artists of all time. So, it was no surprise when Lionsgate announced there would be a biopic made about him. The biggest question was how to fit such a massive career and sophisticated personal life into one film.
“Michael” covers Jackson’s story from his upbringing in Gary, Indiana, to his “Bad” tour in the late ‘80s.
As someone who wasn’t alive to witness his career and doesn’t have extensive knowledge about his life story, I did not go into this film looking for accuracy, but rather exceptional storytelling. Unfortunately, “Michael” wasn’t looking to blow audiences away with its captivating story; instead, it prioritized fan service with its abundance of recreations of the singer’s iconic moments.
The film opens with a young Michael (Juliano Valdi) and his brothers on the rise to becoming the “Jackson 5,” managed by their father, Joseph Jackson (Colman Domingo). With a tight runtime of nearly two hours, there wasn’t much time allotted for the Jackson family’s upbringing, but with frequent belt lashings and verbal abuse, it was clear that Joseph wasn’t a perfect father.
Domingo wasn’t given much subtlety with his vicious dialogue, which I found made his character come off as cartoonish, and the family dynamic between him and his children never felt authentic to me. While I think Domingo is an exceptional actor, his performance felt incredibly limited, and I would have loved to see a more sophisticated portrayal of such an impactful person in Michael’s life.
Twelve years later, as Michael matures, he decides to pursue a solo music career and seeks new management. Michael (Jaafar Jackson) has grown to fear his father and asks his newly appointed lawyer, John Branca (Miles Teller), to be the one to break the news to his father. Joseph struggles to accept this and continuously pressures Michael to continue touring and making music with his brothers.
Jaafar Jackson’s portrayal of Michael is easily the highlight of the film. Jaafar Jackson is Michael’s nephew, and his talent confirms that he was the perfect choice to play the part. From Michael’s signature high-pitched voice to his mannerisms, Jaafar Jackson completely transforms into the “King of Pop.” I would also give some credit to the hair and makeup teams, as the actor looked strikingly similar to his uncle throughout the film.
Once the first major time jump to young-adult Michael occurs, the film shifts gears into full fan-service mode, bouncing across songs to re-create iconic moments like the “Thriller” music video and his “Billie Jean” performance at Motown 25. While these sequences perfectly replicate the classic scenes, they offer no additional insight and only serve to check off Michael’s biggest hits.
Recreations can be great when fleshed out to include new perspectives, but these moments gave me nothing I hadn’t already known from watching the original performances. By including all these reenactments, there wasn’t much room for a deeper story to be told, which could have placed a larger focus on Michael’s relationship with his brothers and father after leaving the Jackson 5.
While the previous reenactments at least felt like an attempt at a cinematic portrayal, the final sequence turned into a full-on concert film. For five minutes straight, Michael performs two of his biggest hits with his brothers on the “Victory" tour, which ends with Michael announcing this as his last time performing with his brothers. Michael then walks backstage to see his father in complete dismay, but he ignores him and continues walking through a crowd of buzzing reporters and paparazzi.
I figured this would be the end, but it jumps forward once more to Michael’s “Bad” tour, where he performs the titular song in its entirety before fading to the credits.
They turned what could have been a powerful final moment of confidence into yet another concert recreation, which completely lacked the emotional impact I felt from the previous scene. Hearing three songs in a row became tiring, which I would have never expected to feel from a biopic of the “King of Pop.”
While the film’s original final act touched on Jackson’s child abuse allegations from 1993, a clause in a settlement from one of his accusers forbade them from being portrayed in the film. This leaves a lot left to tell regarding Jackson’s life after 1993. A sequel film has already been confirmed, though it is unclear how it will approach the allegations.
Although I’m looking forward to seeing Jaafar Jackson return as the legendary singer in the sequel, I was ultimately left disappointed by the lack of depth and character exploration in this first film.
