Cinema from the Spectrum

From child prodigy to the King of Pop, the legacy of Michael Jackson has been a complicated one. While his rough upbringing brought the Jackson family out of poverty, it wasn’t without cost. He lived a fractured life where the only normalcy within his life was on stage. But despite having a successful solo career, Michael has been surrounded with controversy. From exotic pets to his own personal theme park Michael’s antics were featured heavily in the gossip columns. But the darkest stain on Michael’s legacy was the allegations of child sexual abuse with young boys. Unfortunately, what was promised as an authentic look at the life and career of Michael became a sanitized tale to rehabilitate the image of the King of Pop by the Jackson Estate.

The film opens with Michael Jackson performing in 1988 on the Bad Tour before flashing back to his childhood in 1966. The opening focuses primarily on Joe Jackson, a failed musician turned steel mill worker who’s militant in his efforts to push his sons into stardom. Their band The Jackson 5 consumes the children’s lives as Joe views it as his one-way ticket to get out of poverty. Montages later, the film flashes to an adult Michael trying to make it solo with the release of “Thriller.” It’s here where the film loses focus and essentially becomes a low production music video. What begins as an interesting look at the toll that patriarchal abuse can have on a child, especially on one thrust into the limelight, fades into a series of montages that recreate those iconic music videos and performances but on a level that feels hollow.

While this film is deeply flawed, there are some gems hidden within. Jaafar Jackson emulates his uncle to such a strong extent that at times it feels like you are staring at Michael Jackson himself. His commitment to recreating Micheal’s signature dance moves and nailing down his mannerisms was uncanny and held the film together. As for his parents, Colman Domingo and Nia Long did well as Joe and Katherine Jackson, but I found the characterization between the both of them odd. Katherine Jackson isn’t given much personality outside of being a spectator of Joe Jackson’s abuse. The film unfortunately excludes that Michael was not a key part within the band until Katherine vouched for him to Joe. With the absence of aspects within the Jackson family life this has caused the film to lack the conflict needed to showcase Michael Jackson’s rise to fame and instead pins most of it on Joe Jackson, while the familial rift is stronger than just a singular family member.

Michael’s fear of his father doesn’t translate, as Joe comes off as a bumbling fool for most of the film. That and the prosthetic makeup becomes distracting. With how thin the writing is, the actors don’t have much material to work from, despite giving it their all, it doesn’t amount to much.

Including the Jackson 5 becomes a problem when the members are not given any discernible traits with their appearance becoming too brief to create any sort of impact. The popularity of Michael not causing a rift between siblings within the film struck me as odd. As for Michael’s sisters, only LaToya is featured, mostly as a commentary on how Michael’s cosmetic changes inspire her own, while Janet Jackson does not exist at all. The film’s efforts to downplay any conflict reflects on the honesty of what we witness.

The film tip toes around the subject of Michael’s odd behaviour towards children. To avoid addressing the elephant in the room, fixates on Michael Jackson’s stunted adolescence. Michael is shown constantly going to toy stores, buying weird pets and heavily focusing on Neverland by alluding to Michael being like Peter Pan to make him appear sympathetic to children. Every omission feels like the movie is telling itself. Even John Branca (Miles Teller) has a significant role as Michael Jackson’s Lawyer who to this day still works on the behalf of Michael Jackson as the co-executor of his estate.

Sadly, this biopic seeks to reshape Michael’s life and legacy for younger generations. Michael is less of a film and more as a propaganda arm existing on the behalf of the estate. Besides an initially intriguing opening about the dark pursuit of the American dream the film devolves into less proficient recreations of Michael Jackson’s iconic and game-changing music videos. While I don’t feel the movie is all bad per se, it sets a dangerous precedent to weaponize biopics to reshape history instead of existing as a vessel to examine the life the subject has lived. With a sequel confirmed and on the way, I worry to what extent the follow-up will further reshape history as it delves into the more controversial aspects of his career. Part of me wishes this is it, but what spawns after it concerns me greatly.

Watch the trailer right here.

All images via Lionsgate.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Screenplay by John Logan
Produced by Graham King, John Branca, John McClain
Starring Jaafar Jackson, Nia Long, Juliano Valdi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Laura Harrier, Jessica Sula, Mike Myers, Miles Teller, Colman Domingo
Premiere Date: April 10, 2026
Running Time: 127 minutes