Michael earns a solid three-and-a-half stars, largely because when it soars, it really soars.
The musical recreations are electric, the performances land, and there are moments that genuinely remind you why Jackson became arguably the biggest superstar the world has ever seen.
The film belongs to Jaafar Jackson, who delivers a remarkably committed performance, truly inhabiting the gentle human that lay behind the globe-straddling superstar. He absolutely nails the voice, movement, and magnetic stage presence without ever slipping fully into impersonation.
Around him, Colman Domingo and Nia Long bring emotional weight as Joe and Katherine Jackson, while Miles Teller adds a surprisingly grounded turn as attorney John Branca. Domingo is a domineering presence, at once the driving force for the initial success of the Jackson 5 and the ego-centric monster responsible for all the fears and neuroses that came to bear in Michael’s later life.
I was not aware that Jackson was beaten and bullied as a child. I was unaware that MTV refused to place black artists in their syndication and I was oblivious as to how much Jackson gave back to his community.
Where the film struggles is in its reluctance to fully wrestle with the darker and more complicated sides of Jackson’s life. Being heavily estate-approved, it often feels more interested in preserving the mythology than exploring the contradictions behind it – we do get references to painkillers, fatigue and the arrested development that saw him gravitate to spending more time with children.
The result is a biopic that is emotionally effective and hugely entertaining, but ultimately a little too safe when it comes to understanding the man beneath the legend.
One glaring omission is Janet Jackson, whose absence feels impossible to ignore given her importance in both Michael’s personal life and the wider Jackson family story.
Even so, the film succeeds as a crowd-pleasing celebration of the music and the phenomenon, anchored by a star-making performance from Jaafar Jackson that carries the entire production.
Michael is screening at Kinepolis now.
