Michael
10/10
This may be my longest review mainly because of how much this film means to me. First of all Im not suprised that this will be going in my top 4 films of all time.
First of all to talk about the actual filmmaking, Fuqua does an incredible directional take on his story and the cinematography is outstanding specifically in the concert scenes. The casting is perfect with obviously Jaafar being the perfect fit, and him learning so many routines, looks and all of Michael’s attributes to a perfect tea was incredible to witness. Colman Domingo was also incredible playing his father who we all know was not the right fit for Michael but pushed him to his full potential, just in the wrong way. This was one of the most emotional films to watch, and my girlfriend said to me after seeing it “I’ve never seen you smile so much watching a film before”, which says everything, another piece of history within Michael’s legacy I get to witness.
With the second film being announced this is where people will get controversial about it, and to this day it is the most unnecessary controversy that really annoys me. This film proves to all the people who didn’t grow up with MJ, how he was as a person, specifically to the younger generation of his time. He was providing a childhood for them that he himself never had, and yet to this day people still throw accusations at him, can we just let the man be in peace as the greatest artist there ever was. This film really shows how homely and legitimately kind he was, and the second film I hope carries that on. But for all the accusations, there is one reason for that and one only, people want moneyyy, they get a company behind their back and throw false accusations just to get a load of money, and to ruin the GOAT’s legacy. People just see photos or stories online or on the news and just assume consistently, this film does him only little justice to how much of a great man he was, despite his challenges he faced in his journey. Till the day I leave this planet I will forever on defend this man, as my favorite artist of all time I can say I am very glad to have witnessed this and witnessed him when I was very young, and grateful that I grew up with a Jackson addicted family. The second film will be much more emotional to watch but this one was tough to not get emotional over, but I am very glad to have witnessed it.
Some people and reviews I have seen don’t fully seem to understand the purpose of this movie, expecting his whole life fully in-depth, if that was the case it would be 10 hours long, and I would be seated anyway. But this wasn’t a documentary, as that already exists. Jaafar does fantastic considering it’s his first ever acting role, and he’s playing his uncle which was emotional for him to do. The choreography of his dance moves were so perfectly done and sometimes you ask yourself is that Michael? Anyone who expected something new out of this, what did you even expect? What we got was a clear well structured representation of the greatest artist to walk this planet, and can’t wait for part two. Lower your controversies for a minute and just witness the man who changes not only pop, but music as a whole and be grateful we get to witness it. My favorite scenes, if I can’t say all of it, would be the Billie Jean performance at Motown, and The Who’s Loving You studio recording which sounds angelic in the cinema. Forever love MJ and I will be going to rewatch this multiple times, thank you Michael for giving us your art that will forever change the world in many way.