Review: 'Michael,' a compelling portrait of the making of a legend

If you’re looking for dirt in this film, you’re better off watching Leaving Neverland (2019). Is Antoine Fuqua’s Michael a "sanitized" account of the King of Pop? No.

The movie poster makes its mission clear: this is about the "origin" and the "making" of Michael Jackson, portrayed here by his real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson.

Michael focuses on the genesis of his career, specifically as part of the Jackson 5 (which later on became The Jacksons under Epic Records). The movie's intention is to provide a foundation for understanding how Michael was formed—both as a person and a persona—up until the world-shattering 1988 "Bad" World Tour, the year he officially became the King of Pop.

Who was Michael before he quit The Jacksons in 1984? That is the era this film is determined to explore.

While the 2005 "not guilty" verdict remains a polarized debate today, the movie is not interested in litigating the future. It is interested in the boy before the world decided who he was.

Michael focuses on the genesis of his career, specifically as part of the Jackson 5.
iMDB

While this production was partly governed by the Jackson Estate (seen most clearly in the notable omission of Janet Jackson due to the complicated politics of the Jackson dynasty), the portrayal of Michael’s early years aligns with historical accounts.

The film captures what Michael famously revealed to Oprah: he was so terrified of his father, Joe Jackson—played here by a terrific and effectively scary Colman Domingo—that he would often become physically ill at the sight of him.

Motown employees often described him as quiet and reclusive off-stage, hiding behind his mother, Katherine (Nia Long). My own father, who interviewed the Jackson 5 during their rise, consistently recalled Michael as a painfully shy kid. Witness accounts reveal a boy sitting in recording studios, staring out at a park across the street, crying because he could see other children playing while he was forced to work.

This social isolation is the heart of the film's argument—a man whose only 'friends' were his brothers and his pets. So, is this 'sanitized,' or is it simply a chapter of Michael’s life before the 'Wacko Jacko' media circus?"

Fuqua, the director behind the sublime Training Day (2001), delivers an emotionally resonant journey, with a clear-eyed focus on the material. Both Jaafar and Domingo succeed in capturing the core theme: the volatile father-son dynamic. No, Michael doesn't cuss or have a "meltdown" here, but that is consistent with every account of his sensitive temperament as a young man.

Would you want to see a Michael doing "freak stuff" that filmmakers would have to fictionalize just to add dirt? What if Michael was truly just a quiet personality—eccentric and reclusive, searingly lonely from childhood to his twenties? Escaping into Neverland and the world of Peter Pan with his only friends, including his chimp Bubbles, rendered here as CGI?

This is not a Pablo Larraín art-house project. Michael is a glossy, commercial flick in the vein of Bohemian Rhapsody(2018) and Rocketman (2019). It tracks a visionary artist gradually slipping from the psychological clutches of a tyrant. And Jaafar is truly a revelation, capturing the magic as he belts out "I’ll Be There" and "ABC," building to the mounting thrill of "Billie Jean," the inspiration for "Thriller," and his MTV breakout.

Looking for the 1990s allegations in a film that concludes at the peak of the Bad era is a choice of perspective. If you want a movie that traces the molding of a superstar in a popcorn cinematic event—complete with breathtaking full performances—this is your movie. It captures a man desperately trying to find the childhood he lost in those Gary, Indiana recording studios.

It captures a man desperately trying to find the childhood he lost in those Gary, Indiana recording studios.
iMDB

Other critics might argue that by ending the narrative in 1988, Fuqua avoids the "seeds" of later controversies. However, that misses the point of this specific arc. The film is a psychological autopsy of a "lost boy" in a world controlled by Joseph Jackson. It traces the roots of a creative genius the world can never replicate, focusing on the internal trauma of an artist struggling to find a voice outside of his family’s shadow.

Michael turned 30 in 1988, the year he became the most famous person on earth. This film finally shows us the journey of how he got there.