It’s been seven years since fans first heard that a Michael Jackson biopic was in the works. The film had delays and reshoots due to the climax of the film, including the 1993 abuse allegations of Jordan Chandler. Not to mention the reported infighting among family members who didn’t like the film’s direction. But now that Michael has finally hit theaters, fans are left wondering if this film is all it’s cracked up to be. What’s going on, ladies and gentlemen? This is One Tough Critic, and this is my review for Michael.
Michael stars Jaafar Jackson, Jermaine Jackson’s son, who plays the adult Michael Jackson, the fine ass Nia Long, who plays Katherine Jackson, Colman Domingo, who plays the intimidating Joe Jackson, and Juliano Valdi, who plays young Michael Jackson.
The film spans 40 years of Michael’s life. We go from his early days in Gary, Indiana, before and during his days with Motown, to the Off the Wall and Thriller Eras, and finally end on the Dangerous tour. However, this film wasn’t made to have you tapping your feet and reliving things you already knew about Michael. What director Antoine Fuqua and writer John Logan do here is put moviegoers into Michael’s head and share with us intimate moments that we never knew about the King of Pop. One in particular was his process for creating the greatest album ever made, Thriller. We are in his thoughts as he puts the pieces of his songs together, drawing on the pain of the world and local events.
Jaafar Jackson is, hands down, the golden egg of this film. No one in any biopic or miniseries has handled Michael as well as Jaafar. Not once did I feel as though I was watching someone pretend to be Michael. Jaafar is Michael. Jaafar makes it clear in this film that only a Jackson, no, only he could step into the shoes of the greatest performer in the world. The moments between Michael (Jaafar) and Joseph (Colman Domingo) are powerful. Unlike Lawrence Hilton Jacobs’ portrayal of Joseph in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, Colman didn’t have to yell and shout to make the audience understand Joe wasn’t the greatest father to his children, and maintained his sons’ excellence on stage with a heavy hand. Colman did all of that with his eyes and his soft yet threatening tone. Nia Long also did a great job with Katherine, having her play the uplifting mother, who never left Michael’s side and later became his protector against Joseph.
Michael’s relationship with his bodyguard, Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel), was another powerful bond shown in this film. Bill was like a caring older brother, honest with Michael and helping him break free of the shackles that kept him from becoming the greatest there ever was.
Michael is a great film, but even great films have their flaws. Although Juliano did a solid job portraying young Michael, I felt his scenes were unnecessary. There was nothing new shown during this part of Michael’s life, outside of a brief moment of Barry Gordy, who was played by Lorenz Tate, telling Michael to tell the media he was younger than he was.
The film also had some inaccuracies, one being that the song the Jackson 5 performed during their first time at the Apollo was one they recorded while at Motown, even though they were not signed to Motown before this performance. Another is that neither Rebbie, Randy, nor Janet was mentioned in the film. There is one scene at the end of the Victory Tour in which you see someone playing the congas. This might’ve been Randy, but he wasn’t dancing with the brothers, nor was he shown at their home. If you know the history of the Jacksons, you would think the only other sibling the brothers had was LaToya, who was portrayed as the only sibling Michael could relate to or talk to.
Besides these flaws, Michael was an amazing film. It might not be as accurate as some may hope, but it stands as the best Michael biopic to date, with The Jacksons: An American Dream coming in at a close second. Also, for those wondering, Michael will receive a second film, which will focus on his later years leading up to his death in 2009. The release date has not yet been announced, but the film ends with a promise that the story will continue.
