‘Michael’ Review: The King of Pop Flops a Deuce

Michael Jackson was without a doubt the biggest pop star in the world. His fandom reached into the billons globally. And this was all done in an era without social media too. It’s difficult to imagine the kind of stardom Jackson reached and still has even all these years later since his death in 2009. His talent is undeniable, but there is also a dark cloud that surrounds his life. Biopics are a difficult genre because they are neither documentary nor completely fiction. They delve into the life of a real person, and the story they tell is largely dependent where the funding is coming from. Michael is a watered down compilation of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits (pre-1988) that is produced by his own estate and is devoid of any real substance. It fails to explore or give any context to why he was the King of Pop and just sets out to recreate some of his most iconic musical moments, ignoring any of the complexities that made Michael Jackson who he was. The only claim to fame Michael has is being the king of bad biopics.

The film starts from the early life of Michael Jackson, played by a young Juliano Krue Valdi, as he sings alongside his brothers under the abusive control of his father Joe (Colman Domingo). The Jackson 5 as they’re called are the family’s meal ticket out of poverty with Michael clearly being the standout star of the group. As Michael’s popularity rises, he dreams of doing his own solo act. To do so, however, he’s going to have to confront his fears and face his father. Despite all the love in the world from his fans, Michael still can’t escape his dad’s control.

Michael is as basic a biopic can be; it doesn’t even attempt to show Michael Jackson as a real person. Rather he is this mythical figure who has captivated the world with his divine talents. Right from the beginning of the film, everyone is in awe with Michael and how well he can sing and dance. Everyone wants to please Michael. Everyone showers Michael with their praise and admiration. He’s perfect. And because he’s perfect, there is no drama or conflict surrounding him. Michael can do no wrong so nothing he does is ever wrong. There is conflict but it’s at the hands of Joe, who beats Michael, both physically and verbally, or the record executives who won’t play his music videos on MTV. All Michael does is sing and dance, and while Jaafar Jackson does a decent enough job impersonating his uncle, it tells us absolutely nothing about the artist himself. There’s zero insight into the creativity that sparked “Thriller” or how he brought rival gangs together for the “Beat It” music video. Everything in the film feels like an easter egg. There are multiple scenes where Michael is shown reading Peter Pan, saying how much he loves the story. Don’t get the reference? Don’t worry because the camera will zoom in and freeze on Neverland in big bold letters. Or how Michael seeing Night of the Living Dead instantly created “Thriller.” The biopic only cares about showing the end result of Michael’s creativity and nothing else.

In the same vein, Joe Jackson is presented as the overarching villain of the film. He’s the flawed devil to Michael’s perfect angel. All he cares about is the money Michael can bring in for the family and he will use and abuse his son no matter the cost. It’s here that the film finally feels like it has something to work with to explain Michael’s childlike demeanor, but it never actually does anything with the information other than use it to drive tension among the family. It can’t help but feel a little hypocritical because it’s extremely clear that this film is being pushed by Michael’s estate to simply make more money in the easiest way possible. Once again, Michael is used as a prop meant to just sing and dance and nothing else. Michael’s extensive music catalogue and iconic dance moves are always at the forefront of the film while everything else appears to have been left on the cutting room floor. Remember when Michael debuted the moonwalk at Motown 25? We have that. What about the Pepsi commercial incident that left Michael with second-degree burns all over his scalp? Yep, that’s included too. It’s just one reenactment after another with little rhyme or reason as to why it’s being shown other than to remind audiences of just how amazing the King of Pop was.

It’s honestly stunning how one-dimensional Michael Jackson’s own biopic makes him appear. Regardless of the allegations that have been leveled against him for decades now, Michael Jackson’s persona was complex, eccentric, and larger than life. To boil it all down to a compilation of music videos bookended by a few conversations here and there is boring and ultimately adds nothing. It’s bizarre when Michael’s driver and bodyguard Bill (KeiLyn Durrel Jones) is given more depth than Michael himself. There are going to be die-hard fans who will see and love this film without hesitation, and it will likely make hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. That’s the kind of fame Michael Jackson still maintains to this day. Good and bad, there is a story that’s worth telling about Michael Jackson. Michael just isn’t it.