Michael
review by Bobby Blakey
Director Antoine Fuqua has delivered some truly great films throughout his career including The Replacement Killers, Training Day, Southpaw, and The Equalizer trilogy to name a few. Now he is stepping into the world of an icon with his Michael Jackson biopic feature aptly titled Michael. The film stars Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Juliano Krue Valdi, with Miles Teller, Colman Domingo and Jackon’s real life nephew and son of Jermaine Jackson, Jaafar Jackson taking on the role of Micheal himself. Could this film find a way to tell the story of such a big persona and music legend, or should it have just beat it?
Michael follows the life and legacy of one of the most influential artists the world has ever known. The film tells the story of Michael Jackson’s life beyond music, tracing his journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world. Highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career, the film gives audiences a front-row seat to Michael Jackson as never before. This is where his story begins.
I want to start by letting people know a few things about the film itself. First, the film only tells the story up until the BAD album so there is plenty left out. Reportedly Janet Jackson didn’t want to be portrayed so any version of her is not present here in any form or mentioned. Lastly the obvious missing element is the criminal charges and accusations he dealt with which were reportedly not allowed to be mentioned due to something regarding the legal elements and settlements. Not sure what is fully true to any of that, but its important to know that the narrative isn’t instantly just focusing on the good, but clearly the film is hoping to continue into his later history should they get the chance.
Going in as strictly a biopic of the music legend I thoroughly enjoyed it. The
film is almost a musical on some level with the number of performances and details used to recreate them. Throughout the story there are no doubt some aspects of the story to lean into different elements of his life and to create direction whether they happened that way or not. While the rest of the Jackson 5 and Latoya are here sprinkled throughout, but they are not the focus hence not fully fleshed out. This is a story about Michael and his rise and career, and it leans into it in a successful way. I think it does some interesting things to dive deeper into the psyche of the man who believe was still like a child up until his death at 50. Again, who knows how much is fully truth, but it works to get some explanation to some of the decisions and behaviors without feeling like it was just trying to justify it.
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With so much history it is nearly impossible to inject every element into one film so there is a bit of the film playing up the highlights, but it worked for me. Maybe being a fan of his music made the performances pull me back in each time, but I enjoyed it. The truth though is this film doesn’t work without a successful performance from Jafar Jackson as Micheal. Everyone in the cast is great with Coleman Domingo and Nia Long fantastic, but this is Jafar’s film all the way. He is excellent in the role fully channeling his famed uncle in every way. He has mannerisms, looks and stage presence at every turn. The man is a star, and this film allows him to flex the acting chops in multiple ways and he shines. The same can be said for Juliano Valdi who is so good as young Michael on and off the stage.
There are some bumps in the road including the CGI use for Bubbles which I get but also doesn’t always mesh well. Thankfully it’s a small part but had to be there since any true fan knows all about Bubbles and would expect him to appear at some point. I am sure that hardcore Michael aficionados will know of some costume time issues or something, but as a whole it works great for bringing the first half of Jackson’s story to life.
I know many people have justifiable issues with Jackson and will have issues with the existence of this film, but that isn’t who this film is for. This is a love letter to the music while telling the story of one of if not the biggest music artist of all-time. I loved the film for what it was, loved the music and thought the performances were excellent. I would love to see a follow-up to dive into the later half of his career up until his untimely death, but if it isn’t to be I still thing this film does a great job to the legacy of his music and how it changed the industry.
Decide for yourself and check out Michael in theaters now from Lionsgate and Universal.