Without doubt the film Michael delivers in its music and flawless character portrayal.
Jackson’s nephew as Michael (Jaafar Jackson in his first-ever film) gives a transformative performance that is both authentic and embodying of the King of Pop.
You could swear you were watching the real Michael Jackson.
Dance choreography and musical sequences create a celebration both visually and engaging.
We, the audience, can feel like participants in the motion picture.
However, the film disappoints with its underdeveloped story.
It’s all surface-level, everyone appearing that everything’s always wonderful.
There’s way too much smiling, particularly in facial expression, lack of depth, and swiftness in time.
No probable setback is ever imagined, the exception being from their father/manager. The film neglects exploration of how Michael Jackson shaped his genius as songwriter and performer.
Latoya Jackson is represented in the story.
Where was Michael’s sister, Janice?
We are fully entertained, but not enlightened about the man behind the legend.
We get only a sense of his spirit, his sensitivity, and a glimpse into his emotional world.
As a biopic it’s thin, positivity in picking and choosing what ends up on screen.
It’s mostly life’s ups rather than its downsides.
Joseph Jackson (Colman Domingo) is wholly intimidating, even when he cajoles his boys into rehearsal.
But he uses a belt to demand his dominance, Michael the often recipient of a whupping (as the younger Michael, Juliano Valdi).
We feel the boy’s loneliness, the longing of a child needing to find his place in a demanding world.
Always there to console, occasionally standing up to her husband, refuting him, is Michael’s mother Katherine (Nia Long).
As good as were the Jackson Five, there was no satisfying Joseph’s vicarious, personal appetite for fame via his sons, Michael his target for greatest fame due to immeasurable talent.
But Joseph can’t accept that Michael needs to go solo, insisting Michael has no appreciation for family, or his father’s management.
“I’m not a boy anymore,” Michael tells Joseph.
Yes, he addressed his father as Joseph, not as Dad or Father.
It’s the most Michael ever proffered as rebuke.
