RADICAN AT THE MOVIES: “Michael” is an incomplete portrayal of the late pop icon’s life

“Michael,” is a biographical movie on the life Michael Jackson made with the heavy involvement of the late artist’s family. It is an incomplete overview of his life. The high points of the film are the music and recreations of Jackson’s performances that span his career from a youngster in The Jackson 5 through the time following the release of the “Bad” albumin 1987. The rest of the film provides fleeting glimpses of who Michael Jackson was and what his life was like growing up with his siblings and overbearing father Joe Jackson played by Colman Domingo, who is an excellent actor, but he is stymied by the handicaps of the script that portray him as an antagonist in Michael’s life.

Jaafar Jackson, the real life nephew of Michael Jackson, does an amazing job of portraying his uncle in the movie. He brings his uncle to life recreating his mannerisms, speech, and musical performances. The musical performances throughout the movie make you wish this wasn’t such a flawed look at Jackson’s life. The recreation of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video is especially memorable.

Jackson’s young life is painted in broad brushes. His father Joe was overbearing and abusive, but there’s only one scene where he whips young Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi) with a belt for talking back to him that really hits home about what things were really like at home for Jackson and his brothers. His mother Katherine (Nia Long) does nothing to stop Joe’s abuse. Valdi is equally as good as Jaafar Jackson in portraying the younger Michael during the early stages of the movie.

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Jackson’s siblings are merely extras throughout the movie. None of his brothers and sisters are given any sort of attention or characterization. They mine as well have been extras given the lack of depth given to their characters by the script. Janet Jackson isn’t even mentioned or portrayed in the movie, but that’s not a surprise because she also abstained from being an executive producer on the film as well.

As Michael grows older, the viewer gets brief glimpses into his personality. His love for toys and Disney are showcased, but the film doesn’t offer any examination of why Michael ended up that way. There’s no exploration of him growing up too fast under his father’s guidance and forced to do things a child his age shouldn’t be doing. The movie portrays him as the man that never grew up, but there’s no depth to the script to explain why Michael ended up the way that he did.

It’s almost as if Joe softens as Michael grows older and it comes off as odd to see him embrace his son adopting exotic animals like a monkey and a giraffe. He laughs them off and it’s almost as if the audience is supposed to laugh along with Michael’s absurd interests for someone his age. On a side note, there is one hilarious scene where Michael’s monkey goes crazy playing the game Twister and I’m still trying to decide if it was supposed to be funny or not.

Once Michael tells Joe he wants to be a solo artist, Domingo goes back to portraying someone that’s more of an antagonist than anything else. The script is uneven at best in its portrayal of Joe, who is manipulative when Michael tells him he wants to start his career as a solo artist, but there’s nothing that approaches the level of abuse and anger he shows the younger Michael when he whips him with a belt in the aforementioned scene earlier in the movie.

The movie bounces around once it gets to Jackson’s solo career going from “Off the Wall” to “Thriller” to “Bad.” Much like the viewer isn’t given much of a glimpse of who Michael was as a person, it also doesn’t give the viewer much of a look of who he was as an artist either. Director Antoine Faqua seems compelled to zip through the timeline given to the movie Michael’s before it cuts off around the time “Bad” was released.

Overall score: (**): This movie is shallow and hollow at best. You get some glimpse into who Jackson was as a person, but they are few and far between. The movie cuts off before it can examine any of the controversies in Jackson’s life. I enjoyed the musical performances in the movie and Jafaar’s recreation of some of Michael’s biggest dance routines and music videos, but the film offers such an incomplete picture of its subject.

“Michael” is now available to purchase at all major retail outlets on 4K, Blu-ray, and digital formats.

(Sean Radican has been Pro Wrestling Torch for over 23 years. He has covered the independents, ROH, and NJPW in-depth over the years in addition to also watching all the major promotions in the U.S. PWTorch VIP members get access to his weekly Radican Worldwide podcast looking at a variety of news topics from the past week and then an in-depth Go-Home segment with a guest on a big topic of the week. You can contact him at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. You can follow him on X @SR_Torch and on Bluesky @SeanRadican.)