Movie Review: Michael

I may be among the minority who hold this opinion, but I believe the film Michael that explored the early years of Michael Jackson (1966-1988) was hyped and overrated.

Michael was released in April of this year to much fanfare and became an instant hit. I was turned off right away because of the overpromotion of the production.

Advertisement for this biography was everywhere: television talk shows, Facebook reels, and commercials. After the first week people standing in long lines who were interviewed were cheering and chanting "Michael, Michael, Michael."

I felt there was over commercialization and taking advantage of the late King of Pop. He was called Wacko Jacko and accused of child molestation in his later years, yet now everyone adored him.

Worldwide, the response to hype was positive. I understood that younger generations would appreciate anything related to the man some consider to have been the greatest entertainer of all time.

I did not understand the excitement from those like myself who watched Michael's life play out in newspaper and tabloid headlines for 50 years. And had seen the Jackson 5 in person in concerts and on television shows like Sonny & Cher and The Ed Sullivan Show.

Michael is the highest-grossing biopic ever, grossing over a billion dollars. It was the first movie in the history of Lionsgate to cross the $1 billion threshold. More than six million people saw the film within the first three days and gave rave reviews.

These were not just young folk who did not grow up listening to the hits from the boys from Gary, Indiana. Moviegoers of all ages attended, including those who read details in Teen and Tiger Beat Magazines and followed Michael Jackson for five decades.

More importantly, several generations enjoyed the television miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, which aired in 1992. This story of The Jackson Five was five hours long and presented over three nights.

It was very detailed, and delved into personal revelations. I knew there was no way that much information could fit into two hours and seven minutes. And it was not.

I recently watched Michael, which is streaming on STARZ. I was not impressed and had a problem with the pace. This version of the life of the King of Pop was not a true biography but more like an extended music video or a television documentary.

It glossed over details and skimmed through important events rather than exploring them in detail. Many scenes did not necessarily connect with those that preceded or came after.

The fast pace of the film, much like the promotions, seemed sensationalized. The movie structure lacked the depth that is needed to properly tell the story of an iconic figure like Michael Jackson.

It also seemed as though the film was attempting to stereotype the parents of the Jackson clan. Colman Domingo portrayed Joe Jackson as overbearing and abusive. Nia Long's performance as Katherine Jackson had the matriarch looking frightened most of the time.

In the television miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, Angela Bassett's version of Katherine was strong, and she stood up to her husband. Lawrence Hilton Jacobs played Joe as strict but not abusive.

Anyone who has watched Joe and Katherine over the years will realize that he seemed stern but not like an ogre, and she did not carry herself like an abused woman.

Jaafar Jackson, the son of Jermaine Jackson, had the lead role portraying his famous uncle, and he was excellent. The actors portraying Marlo, Tito, Randy, Jackie, and Jermaine were great but should have been showcased more because without them, there would have been no Michael.

Despite the high attendance not everyone had the same opinion, Consider the following review.

But this is a frustratingly shallow, inert picture, a kind of cruise-ship entertainment, which can't quite bring itself to show that Michael was an abuse victim, brutalised by his father and robbed of his childhood."

John Nugent-Empire.

I don't agree that Michael necessarily should have explored the abuse by his father or emphasized his lack of a childhood. Each visionary has the right to tell things in his or her own way.

I do agree that the film was "shallow" and came across as "cruise-ship entertainment". The biopic on Michael Jackson is being widely praised, but I believe this work has been more celebrated than it deserves.