Musician biopics, when done right, can be powerful portraits that go beyond the greatest hits and show-stopping spectacles to paint their subjects with a real sense of intimacy. At their best, these films concern themselves less with simply preserving an artist\u2019s precious legacy and more with examining the complexities that define them.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n When done wrong, though, well, you end up with otherwise hollow retellings like Antoine Fuqua\u2019s \u201cMichael,\u201d a reverential film backed by the Jackson estate that spends more time enshrining the King of Pop as a mythic global icon than grappling with him as a complicated human being.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The first-name title of Michael Jackson\u2019s long-awaited biopic implies that it finally humanizes, rather than illuminates, the pop legend the world idolized in the years before and after his 2009 death. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But judging by the lack of soul and curiosity in screenwriter John Logan\u2019s Wikipedia-esque script, \u201cMichael\u201d only goes so deep into the tensions and contradictions that shaped the singer\u2019s life pre-1988.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n To be fair, the film doesn\u2019t entirely neglect his musical legacy. Diehard MJ fans will more than likely be impressed by how the King of Pop\u2019s nephew, Jaafar Jackson (son of Jermaine Jackson), seamlessly steps into Michael\u2019s loafers with uncanny precision. <\/span>Despite having no formal acting or dancing experience beforehand, Jaafar replicates his uncle\u2019s signature moves, vocal cadence and physicality with striking authenticity, enough to convincingly channel the performer that audiences still remember.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n From electric reenactments of the \u201cDon\u2019t Stop \u2018Til You Get Enough\u201d and \u201cThriller\u201d music videos \u2014 the latter of which offers a tiny glimpse into Michael\u2019s creative wits with a note he gives director John Landis about zooming out to capture the dancers\u2019 feet \u2014 to the famous Motown 25 performance of \u201cBillie Jean\u201d to a remarkable transition into Michael performing \u201cBad\u201d at London\u2019s Wembley Stadium, Jaafar puts forth a solid effort to nail all the aspects of his uncle as an all-time great entertainer. That you can\u2019t take away from the young star, who worked with actor\/acting coach <\/span>Angela E. Gibbs<\/span><\/a> (daughter of Hollywood veteran Marla Gibbs) before he even snagged his film role.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But being technically accurate isn\u2019t the same as being genuinely insightful. And that\u2019s where \u201cMichael\u201d ultimately falls short of delving into Michael the man versus Michael the idol.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n For all its visual flair, the biopic is dramatically subdued, lacking the kind of detail needed to reveal who Michael truly was beneath the persona most of the public knows \u2014 save for a handful of scenes that touch on his fraught relationship with fame and the abuse inflicted by his tyrannical father, Joe Jackson (portrayed by Colman Domingo under heavy prosthetics and makeup). <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But even those moments are rushed aside in favor of ticking off all the highlights fans expect. <\/span>That flatness isn\u2019t exactly surprising \u2014 I expected as much when the <\/span>\u201cMichael\u201d trailer<\/span><\/a> first arrived last year.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But that\u2019s a common trap for biopics like \u201cMichael.\u201d Heavy involvement from the estate and family \u2014 several Jacksons are executive producers, alongside Michael\u2019s attorney John Branca (played by Miles Teller in one too many scenes) as a co-producer \u2014 ultimately steers the film toward a safe, PR-friendly narrative that avoids the thornier aspects of the star\u2019s personal life \u2014 and <\/span>excludes siblings Janet, Rebbie and Randy Jackson entirely<\/span><\/a> \u2014 rather than a truly honest one. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the end, that serves no one beyond fans seeking nostalgia and the stakeholders who stand to profit.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n That may explain why the Jackson estate reportedly had no issue shelling out an <\/span>additional $15 million to cover extensive reshoots<\/span><\/a> for the biopic \u2014 ultimately securing an equity stake in the film \u2014 after an earlier cut framed Michael\u2019s 1993 child sexual abuse allegations as an extortion attempt, violating an agreement with accuser Jordan Chandler that prohibited his portrayal or mention in any dramatization. As a result, the finished film stops just a few years before that period of turmoil, with the pop icon\u2019s reputation still intact.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some critics have argued that omitting such accusations from \u201cMichael\u201d and ending on an upbeat high presents a misleadingly sanitized version of his life, which is a fair assessment. A long-teased sequel \u2014 described by Jaafar as being in \u201c<\/span>early development<\/span><\/a>\u201d \u2014 could, however, explore the later years of Michael\u2019s life, when <\/span>more allegations emerged<\/span><\/a>. That is, if the Jackson estate is willing to reckon with those controversies against the latter half of his career. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But even without touching on his scandal-plagued years, this revised version of \u201cMichael\u201d is stripped bare enough, repeating a story many of us know rather than contextualizing it, and in doing so, never quite reaches the man behind the legend.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Perhaps that\u2019s because \u201cMichael\u201d keeps Michael in a state of arrested development for much of the movie, presenting a story in which the world\u2019s biggest superstar spent the early part of his career struggling to escape the grip of his relentless father and manager. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n We\u2019re repeatedly reminded that Michael never had a normal life, having grown up in the spotlight while Joe\u2019s ambitions deprived him of a childhood. But the film only hints at the toll of that fame (his loneliness and childlike tendencies), offering little more than passing nods to his fascination with Peter Pan and his reliance on a collection of exotic animals and toys for comfort.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n There are also several scenes (arguably too many) of Michael visiting sick children in hospitals and galavanting through toy stores, framed either to underscore his big kid nature or vaguely allude to his alleged pedophilia without legally touching murky waters. But Fuqua never lingers on any of these moments long enough for them to amount to any insight into Michael\u2019s psychology. And with so much ground to cover, the multimillion-dollar project struggles to justify its own heft.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n So, as expected of a conventional biopic, \u201cMichael\u201d takes us back to the beginning, where the magic was born in Gary, Indiana. A young Michael (played by the talented Juliano Valdi in his film debut) and his brothers\/bandmates, Jermaine (Jayden Harville), Tito (Judah Edwards), Marlon (Jaylen Lyndon Hunter) and Jackie (Nathaniel Logan McIntyre) are relentlessly drilled at home by Joe in pursuit of perfection, guided by his belief that \u201cin this life, you\u2019re either a winner, or you\u2019re a loser.\u201d And in this story, Joe is determined to win at any cost, even if it means driving his children away.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n In one scene, when Michael declines to rehearse after a gig, his father (who he calls Joseph) beats him with a belt as the rest of the family \u2014 who appear as mere side characters throughout this story \u2014 including matriarch Katherine Jackson (meekly played by Nia Long), watches from the sidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s the film\u2019s only explicit depiction of Joe\u2019s physical abuse \u2014 something Michael spoke openly about before he died \u2014 though it is repeatedly implied throughout, underscoring the control he held over the children well into adulthood, most of all Michael. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n At least, this is the story \u201cMichael\u201d has spun to give us a victim and a villain. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But even as the villain, Joe Jackson manages to pull his sons \u2014 who become the Jackson 5 \u2014 out of Gary, securing small club bookings until they eventually catch the attention of Motown executive Suzanne de Passe (played by Laura Harrier in more of a cameo role). The film doesn\u2019t bother explaining how the group miraculously winds up in recording sessions with Motown founder Berry Gordy (Larenz Tate), another casualty of compressing 22 years of Michael\u2019s life into a two-hour runtime, before leaping into his solo career within the first 20 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The film\u2019s haste might be forgivable if it actually reached the substance of Michael\u2019s story. Instead, Fuqua appears more intent on rushing toward his emergence as a solo superstar \u2014 which gets a rather choppy portrayal \u2014 and stacking the film with needle drops, all while avoiding the nuance that would lend his early years some depth beyond the growing tensions with his father.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But \u201cMichael\u201d insists on building its plot on the slow-burning strain between Michael and his father, as the former repeatedly tries to strike out on his own, only to be shut down by Joe and kept on tour with his brothers (played by Jamal Henderson, Tre\u2019 Horton, Rhyan Hill and Joseph David-Jones as adults). Michael often confides in his bodyguard\/surrogate father, Bill Bray (warmly portrayed by KeiLyn Durrel Jones), who eventually encourages him to get his own team. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Enter Branca, who apparently made a strong impression on the singer during their first meeting. In one particularly cringey moment, Michael asks how the attorney can help make him the biggest star in the world. Instead of offering any concrete plan, Branca replies with a vague line to the effect of, \u201cBecause I believe there\u2019s no one else like you.\u201d Huh?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n There are several puzzling moments like these in \u201cMichael\u201d that feel less like a grounded recounting of events and more like cursory writing designed to keep the story moving. Many try \u2014 and fail \u2014 to stitch together an uneven (and at times inaccurate) timeline that never quite reconciles Michael\u2019s human side with his larger-than-life image.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sure, there are personal moments \u2014 such as interactions with his chimp Bubbles (rendered in distractingly off-putting CGI) or his mother, curled up on the couch watching movies over bowls of ice cream \u2014 where it feels like we\u2019re seeing Michael in his real element. But those are quickly undercut by more idolizing sequences, such as Michael standing atop a car in the middle of New York City, posed like a monument before a sea of adoring fans. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Are these the moments meant to humanize him? It\u2019s hard to tell when \u201cMichael\u201d places such emphasis on them.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But perhaps that\u2019s the intention, seeing as though the film \u2014 already stirring a frenzy among his defenders \u2014 seems more concerned with serving fans than its own subject, a <\/span>sentiment that Michael\u2019s daughter, Paris, echoed<\/span><\/a> ahead of its release.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMichael\u201d works hard to keep audiences entertained every step of the way, transporting some back to an era that may stir fond memories of Michael when he was still king in their eyes. That approach works well enough for those simply content with enjoying the musical set pieces \u2014 watching him in the studio or mapping out his early solo albums. But in doing so, the biopic robs us of a richer sense of what made Michael one of the most captivating artists of all time. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n What did his creative process actually look like? Where else did he draw inspiration from beyond greats like James Brown and Fred Astaire? How much did his rivalry with Prince actually motivate him? \u201cMichael\u201d leaves such questions largely unanswered, opting instead for painstaking recreations \u2014 sometimes outright inventions \u2014 of his career milestones in the name of audience appeasement. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n One such ham-fisted scene shows Michael pressuring CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff (Mike Myers, in a brief cameo) to get his \u201cBillie Jean\u201d video added to MTV\u2019s rotation \u2014 at a time when the network excluded Black artists \u2014 <\/span>after<\/span><\/em> he had already filmed the \u201cThriller\u201d short film (<\/span>which is not factually accurate<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMichael\u201d continually gestures toward these landmark moments, but without the care or fullness to give them weight. At one point, Jaafar\u2019s Michael parrots lines from Logan\u2019s clunky script about wanting to create the greatest album of his generation \u2014 referring to \u201cThriller\u201d \u2014 but the film offers little sense of how that ambition actually took shape. Instead, it leans on obscure montages of him sifting through song notecards in search of the perfect album title and recording with longtime collaborator Quincy Jones (Kendrick Sampson), who, notably, is the only major musical partner of Michael\u2019s to appear in the film.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But, perhaps, none of that matters if audiences are too swept up in the groove of his songs to even worry about how they came to be. Just human nature, right?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The estate-approved \u201cMichael\u201d devotes so much energy to glorifying Michael\u2019s impact and polishing up his image that you can hardly call it an honest origin story. Even its portrayal of events like the infamous Pepsi commercial, which left the musician severely burned, feels engineered as a dramatic prelude to a hospital-bed epiphany about wanting to \u201cshine my light\u201d and \u201cspread love and joy\u201d before he returns to the stage in the film\u2019s closing moments.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n As mentioned, \u201cMichael\u201d concludes on a high note, with Michael finally free from his father\u2019s control and headlining a world tour in a climactic performance sequence before what appears to be hundreds of thousands of screaming fans, some in sheer awe, others fainting. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But just before the epilogue card appears, teasing, \u201cHis story continues\u2026,\u201d the camera lingers on a number of crowd close-ups as they watch Michael command the stage, completely under his spell, as if to remind you exactly who this movie was made for.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMichael\u201d is now playing in theaters.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Jaafar](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/69e95916140000db5fecae51.jpg?cache=mgX6lbr7M6&ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
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