‘Michael’ trailer
The trailer for Lionsgate’s music biopic “Michael” starring Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo and Miles Teller. Director: Antoine Fuqua.
The King of Pop is back from the dead to play the greatest hits. And that’s it.
“Michael” is the first of a two-part biopic about the late music icon Michael Jackson. And it really is a family affair. Not only was it produced by Michael Jackson’s estate, all of his siblings are listed as executive producers (minus Janet Jackson – because of an already existing drama with the estate (she doesn’t even appear in the movie!) and his own cousin Jaafar (Jermaine Jackson’s son) was cast to play the “Man in the Mirror” himself.
The problem with keeping it in the family is that in the end they didn’t really make a movie. They made an infomercial.
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Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson and KeiLyn Durrel Jones as Billy Bray in ‘Michael’. (Glen Wilson/Lionsgate)
The origin story begins in 1966 in the Jackson living room in Gary, Indiana. Young Michael (played by an infectious Juliano Valdi) and his four brothers are given barking orders by their demanding father Joe Jackson (Colman Domingo), whom they all call ‘Joseph’. In their formative years, Joe teaches them, “In this life you are either a winner or a loser.”
What follows is a hyper-sanitized timeline of Michael Jackson’s career trajectory, with virtually all of his hits performed on screen or on the soundtrack, from the Jackson 5 days’ “ABC” and “I’ll Be There” to “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.” We get everything on the cultural checklist, from multiple references to “Peter Pan” and Neverland, his CGI pet chimpanzee Bubbles, the making of the “Thriller” music video, to the fact that his hair caught fire during the filming of the Pepsi commercial. And throughout, his overbearing father (set up as the villain of the film) is seen trying to dictate his career because he is connected to the rest of the family. But overall he simply glides through life with hardly any conflict, at least according to ‘Michael’.
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Judah Edwards as young Tito, Jaylen Hunter as young Marlon, Juliano Valdi as young MJ, Nathaniel McIntyre as young Jackie and Jayden Harville as young Jermaine in ‘Michael’. (Courtesy of Lionsgate)
Jaafar Jackson makes his big screen debut as his uncle – some pretty big shoes to fill. He masters the speaking voice and all the dance moves, but the film’s lack of emotional depth leaves Jaafar with a solid imitation of the pop superstar instead of a real acting performance.
What sticks with me about these music biopics is that they so often rely on the original recordings of the deceased artists and the actors essentially lip-sync the songs. Think 2018’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The parallels shouldn’t come as a shock, as both films were produced by Graham King. It personally takes me out of the movie knowing that they’re essentially lifting the entire soundtrack and slapping it on someone else – although several songs supposedly mixed Michael Jackson’s voice with Jaafar’s, but most viewers won’t be able to tell. I certainly couldn’t.
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Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson in ‘Michael’. (Glen Wilson/Liongsate)
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Another pitfall Michael falls into, much like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” is that it avoids controversy entirely — at least in part one, which ends with the 1988 “Bad” tour — and doesn’t even attempt to delve into his psyche beyond the superficial things we all know, like his strange childish behavior. But based on reports of the behind-the-scenes drama that took place, including rewrite the ending To allay the sexual abuse allegations from 1993, it seems doubtful that part two will touch on sensitive topics. “Michael” is more sugar-coated than a Sour Patch Kid. It’s like ChatGPT spit out a scenario after going through the Wikipedia page.
Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in ‘Michael’. (Glen Wilson/Lionsgate)
The biggest difference is the amount of top talent involved in such a non-cinematic film. You’ve got veteran director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “Olympus Has Fallen,” “The Equalizer” films), Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Logan (“Gladiator,” “The Aviator,” “Skyfall”) and a star-studded cast including Domingo, Miles Teller (as Jackson’s longtime manager John Branca), Nia Long (as his mother Katherine Jackson) and Mike Myers (as CBS Records CEO Walter Yetnikoff), as well as an excellent makeup department, yet the film can’t last more than two or three minutes without throwing in another Michael Jackson hit in the hope that audiences will rush home to listen to his music. This money-making scheme by the Jackson estate is truly genius.
Music biopics should take a page from the “Rocketman” playbook, Elton John’s underrated jukebox musical from 2019. Unlike “Michael,” it was actually artistic and poor Taron Egerton poured his heart out (he sang himself, by the way!) and was completely rejected by the Academy, while lip-syncing Rami Malek won Best Actor and “Bohemian Rhapsody” earned a nod for Best Picture. I will not forget these grave injustices.
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Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in ‘Michael’. (Courtesy of Lionsgate)
The verdict
“Michael” is less a movie and more an elaborate plot by the Jackson estate to replenish its coffers by reaping the benefits of a legendary music catalog. Superfans of the King of Pop will be on a sugar rush, but don’t fool yourself into thinking this is more than what it really is.
★ ½ — SKIP
“Michael” has been reviewed PG-13 for some thematic material, language and smoking. Running time: 2 hours and 7 minutes. Now in cinemas.
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