There are some movies that are difficult to review because the person at the center of the story is already bigger than the movie itself.
That is exactly the problem with Michael.
How do you make a two-hour movie about Michael Jackson when his life, career, controversies and music could easily fill an entire television series?
Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, Michael attempts to answer that question by focusing mainly on Jackson’s rise from a young member of the Jackson 5 to one of the biggest entertainers in the world. Jaafar Jackson plays his uncle, while Colman Domingo plays Joe Jackson and Nia Long plays Katherine Jackson.
After watching it, my feeling is simple:
I enjoyed the movie, but I wanted more of Michael Jackson the person and less of Michael Jackson the legend.
That doesn’t mean I think the film is bad.
Far from it.
There are moments that are genuinely impressive, especially when the music starts and Jaafar Jackson takes the stage.
But there is also a feeling that the movie is only showing us part of the story.
Jaafar Jackson Was the Right Choice
The biggest question before the movie came out was always going to be the same:
Can Jaafar Jackson actually play Michael Jackson?
My answer is yes.
And honestly, I was surprised by how convincing he was.
Jaafar doesn’t simply look like his uncle. He captures some of the small things that made Michael recognizable the movements, expressions, posture and stage presence.
But the dancing is where the performance really comes alive.
There are moments when you almost stop thinking about the actor and start watching Michael.
That is a difficult thing to accomplish.
Jaafar was making his feature-film debut in the role, which makes the performance even more impressive. The film also uses Juliano Krue Valdi as young Michael during the earlier part of his life.
For me, Jaafar’s biggest achievement is that he doesn’t feel like someone doing a Michael Jackson impression for two hours.
He feels like someone who studied him closely.
The Jackson 5 Years Are Some of the Best Parts
The early family scenes are among my favourite parts of the movie.
You see a young Michael discovering that he has something special.
He is surrounded by his brothers, performing in front of increasingly larger audiences while Joe Jackson pushes the family toward success.
The movie does a good job showing just how quickly Michael’s childhood changed.
He wasn’t simply a talented kid who became famous.
He was a child whose talent became the family’s business.
And that distinction matters.
There is something uncomfortable about watching young Michael perform while knowing what that level of fame would eventually mean for him.
The more successful he became, the less ordinary his life became.
That is one of the strongest ideas in the film.
Joe Jackson Is Complicated
Colman Domingo gives one of the strongest performances in the movie as Joe Jackson.
Joe is not presented as a simple villain.
He is demanding.
He can be frightening.
He can be extremely harsh with his children.
But the movie also shows the ambition behind his actions.
He believed his family had an opportunity to escape poverty through music, and he pushed them relentlessly.
That doesn’t excuse everything he did.
But it gives the relationship more complexity.
What I found particularly interesting was watching Michael’s relationship with his father change as Michael became more successful.
At some point, the student becomes bigger than the teacher.
Michael no longer needs Joe to tell him what to do.
And that creates a completely different kind of tension.
Colman Domingo Is Excellent
If Jaafar owns the performance side of the movie, Colman Domingo owns many of the dramatic scenes.
His Joe Jackson is intense without becoming a cartoon character.
You can understand why his children are afraid of him while also understanding why he believes he is doing what is necessary.
That complexity makes the character more interesting.
Nia Long also brings warmth to Katherine Jackson.
She provides a contrast to Joe’s much harder personality and represents another side of Michael’s family life.
Together, the performances help make the family scenes feel more believable.
The Music Is Obviously the Highlight
Let’s be honest.
A Michael Jackson movie without Michael Jackson’s music would be almost impossible to imagine.
And this is where Michael delivers.
Whenever the movie moves into a major performance, the energy changes.
You hear the songs.
You see the choreography.
You see Jaafar recreate some of Michael’s famous movements.
And suddenly the movie becomes a concert.
The official description says the film covers Michael’s early solo career and some of his most iconic performances.
For longtime fans, those moments are probably going to be the biggest reason to watch.
I especially enjoyed the transition between Michael’s life behind the scenes and the person audiences saw on stage.
That contrast is important.
The world saw the superstar.
The movie wants us to remember there was a human being underneath the image.
But This Is Where I Have a Problem
The biggest weakness is also the biggest limitation of the film.
There is simply too much Michael Jackson’s life to fit into one movie.
The film runs for 127 minutes.
That’s not a short movie, but for Michael Jackson, it isn’t enough.
His childhood alone could have been an entire movie.
His transformation into a solo superstar could have been another.
The Thriller era could have carried an entire film.
Then there are the later years, his changing appearance, relationships, family problems, financial issues and the serious allegations that surrounded his life.
Trying to fit everything into one production was always going to create problems.
And I think the movie sometimes feels like it is rushing through major parts of his life.
The Movie Feels Too Careful
This is probably my biggest criticism.
Michael wants to tell the story of Michael Jackson, but it is also very careful about how much darkness it puts on screen.
That is understandable.
Michael Jackson remains an extremely complicated and controversial figure.
But if you’re making a biographical film about someone whose public life contained enormous highs and serious controversies, you can’t completely separate the two.
The movie’s original production went through changes after legal issues connected to a previous settlement resulted in references to the 1993 child sexual abuse allegations being removed and the third act being revised.
That decision matters because it affects what kind of biography the film can ultimately be.
I don’t think a movie has to make accusations into established facts.
But I do think a serious biopic should acknowledge that these controversies exist and explain their importance to the person’s public story.
Instead, the film feels much more comfortable showing the superstar than confronting the most difficult parts of his legacy.
That makes the story feel incomplete.
I Wanted More of the Man Behind the Superstar
This is probably the biggest thing missing for me.
We see Michael performing.
We see Michael becoming famous.
We see Michael dealing with his family.
But I wanted more quiet moments.
What did Michael actually think when he was alone?
What did he fear?
What did fame do to his relationships?
Why did he become increasingly isolated?
How did he see himself as his appearance changed?
What did he think about the enormous expectations placed on him?
Those questions are much more interesting to me than simply watching another recreation of a famous performance.
The movie gives us glimpses of these things, but not enough.
The Problem With Making a Legend the Main Character
There is another issue.
Michael Jackson became so famous that it is difficult to separate the man from the image.
The glove.
The hat.
The moonwalk.
The dance moves.
The songs.
The screams from the crowd.
The costumes.
The videos.
Everything is already part of popular culture.
So when the movie recreates those moments, there is always a danger that it becomes a greatest-hits compilation.
And sometimes it does.
I enjoyed those scenes, but I kept thinking:
I already know this Michael Jackson.
I wanted the movie to show me something I didn’t know.
The Film Is Stronger When It Shows Michael’s Childhood
Interestingly, the moments I found most interesting weren’t necessarily the biggest performances.
They were the quieter scenes involving young Michael.
Those scenes show a child trying to understand a world that is changing around him.
He is talented, but he is also being pushed.
He wants to perform, but he is also losing parts of a normal childhood.
That is where the movie feels most human.
The tragedy of Michael’s story isn’t simply that he became famous.
It is that he became famous incredibly young.
And once the world discovered what he could do, there was no going back.
Did Jaafar Capture Michael’s Personality?
I think he did a good job, although I don’t think the movie gives him enough dramatic material to show the full range of Michael.
The stage scenes are obviously where he is strongest.
But Michael was not only a performer.
He was reportedly shy and private, while his public persona was enormous and almost impossible to comprehend.
That contrast should have been a bigger part of the film.
Jaafar gives us glimpses of it, but the script often moves quickly to the next major event.
The Critics and the Audience Clearly See Different Movies
The response to Michael is interesting.
Rotten Tomatoes currently has the movie at 38% from critics but 97% from verified audience ratings.
That difference actually makes sense to me.
Critics are more likely to ask whether the film is a complete and balanced biography.
Fans are more likely to ask whether Jaafar looks and moves like Michael, whether the performances feel authentic and whether the music delivers.
If you go into the movie wanting a deep examination of Michael Jackson’s entire life, you may leave disappointed.
If you go in wanting to see Michael Jackson’s rise to fame recreated on a big screen, you are much more likely to enjoy it.
I fall somewhere in the middle.
Is It Worth Watching?
Yes.
I would recommend it, especially to Michael Jackson fans.
Even with my criticisms, there is something special about seeing these performances recreated on a large screen.
Jaafar Jackson is impressive.
Colman Domingo is excellent.
The music is fantastic.
The production looks good.
And the early family story gives the movie an emotional foundation.
But I would recommend watching it with realistic expectations.
This is not the definitive Michael Jackson story.
It can’t be.
It is one version of the story, focused heavily on his rise and his career.
And once you understand that, the movie becomes easier to appreciate.
My Final Take
Michael is a good movie that could have been a great one if it had been willing to go deeper.
The performances are strong, especially Jaafar Jackson and Colman Domingo.
The musical sequences are the obvious highlight.
The childhood and Jackson 5 sections are genuinely interesting.
But the movie moves too quickly through a life that needed much more time.
And for me, the biggest weakness is that it doesn’t fully confront the complicated parts of Michael Jackson’s legacy.
I understand why the filmmakers made those choices.
But understanding the choice doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.
Michael Jackson was not just the King of Pop.
He was a child who became famous, a son, a brother, a performer, a businessman, a cultural icon and one of the most controversial celebrities in modern history.
That’s a lot for one movie.
Maybe too much.
Still, when Jaafar steps onto the stage and the music starts, you remember why this story was worth telling in the first place.
For a few moments, you aren’t thinking about the controversies, the headlines or the endless debates.
You’re simply watching a performer who changed popular music.
And that is where Michael is at its best.
My rating: 7.5/10.
Not perfect.
Not definitive.
But definitely worth watching.
James
