“Michael” hit theaters across the world April 24, and instantly became the number one movie in the world. The film grossed $218.8 million in its opening weekend, making it the highest-grossing opening for a musical biopic. Michael Jackson, arguably one of the most famous and influential artists in history is played by his cousin Jaafar Jackson, and he performed unbelievably well in this film. There were times during this movie when I was sitting there, mesmerized by how similar they looked and sounded. I had to question if it was actually Michael or not, and I don’t think anyone could play Michael as well as Jaafar did. By far the greatest part of the movie was when Michael Jackson was singing. The vocals and song choice of the film are out of this world and really carried the entire movie.
In the beginning, we start where it all began in Michael’s life, Gary, Indiana. Tito, Jackie, Marlon, Jermaine and Michael Jackson were all famous for being members of the popular 70s boy band, the Jackson 5. A big chunk of this movie sets up the harsh relationship Michael had with his father, the heartwarming moments he had with his mother and the differences he shared with his brothers. Since my Mom is from Indiana, she showed me all the songs at a young age, and yes, I still know most of the words to every song, along with most parts of Michael Jackson’s life. With that, I can say this movie could be “accurate” in the way you think it is presented. “Michael“ focuses on the facts of his life, and legally can’t go into the allegations that have been made against him. This is why there have been awful reviews among critics, but when the company producing the movie legally can not touch on any of those topics, it’s beyond their control.
The atmosphere and feel of this movie were amazing, and it is a must-watch in the theaters for Michael Jackson fans. People were singing along to songs, laughing and overall enjoying watching this movie. I even caught a few people getting up and dancing to the credits music after the film. This is exactly what this movie intended to do. Jackson united people from across the country. It never mattered what the color of your skin was, what country you’re from or what political party you voted for, and this movie expresses its desire to bring people together. During the film Michael says, “Music is a universal language,” and that is represented in the entire film so well.
I thought “Michael“ was great in every aspect of the singing and dancing side, but what changed it for me was the character building. I felt that besides Michael’s mom and Dad, the emotion around other characters was not there. I did not like Colman Domingo playing Michael’s father, Joe Jackson, who is essentially the villain in “Michael,” and was the most influential man in his life. I found some of the dialogue outside of Jaafars to be bland and almost corny at some points. Along with that, watching the ending was honestly my least favorite part, but when thinking about it, the ending was really just a celebration of his life and setting up more to the story in the sequel set to come out.
Besides all of that, the prop choice, costumes and camera angles of this film were all very good. Michael’s outfits in many scenes looked amazing and really set the film’s vibe. One of the things I thought was a little out there was that younger Michael’s voice was identical to the Jackson 5’s actual songs, along with songs the older version of Michael used, that sounded straight from the actual songs. “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” was one of the songs I think Jaafar actually sang, and that scene was probably my favorite of the movie because it sounded more authentic and not digital. I would honestly love to see Jaafar Jackson go on tour or do shows performing Michael’s songs because he sounds and looks a lot like him.
Michael was still an amazing film, and even with very bad reviews from critics, the general public still thinks this film is great. While it could have used work in some areas, the film did what it was intended to do, which was to unite people, and it has done exactly that. Even though I had higher hopes for the movie, it was still good.
“Michael:” ★★★☆☆
