{"id":33396,"date":"2026-04-23T01:58:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T08:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=33396"},"modified":"2026-04-23T01:58:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T08:58:02","slug":"michael-has-some-fantastic-music-but-doesnt-offer-deep-insight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=33396","title":{"rendered":"MICHAEL Has Some Fantastic Music, But Doesn\u2019t Offer Deep Insight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 127 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Lionsgate Films opens exclusively at\ncinemas and on IMAX screens on April 24th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years back, when the Warner Bros. adaptation of the\nbook Dune <\/em>opened at theaters, many were surprised to see the film come\nto an end only halfway through the story. The studio noted that, if the film\nperformed well enough, the finale would soon follow (and of course, it did, as\nwell as an upcoming third chapter set to arrive at the end of the year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While one wouldn\u2019t expect comparisons with that title,\nmoviegoers should note that the new biopic Michael <\/em>actually bears some\nsimilarity in its storytelling. This movie depicts the early life of the famed\nmusician, as well as his rise to fame and stardom with the 1984 release Thriller<\/em>\n(which now stands as the best-selling album of all time). And that\u2019s about all\nit covers, with the more tumultuous\/contentious sections of his life only\npromised in a potential follow-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story begins in Indiana, with driven, physically abusive\nfather Joe Jackson (Colman Domingo) pushing his five boys to become\nprofessional entertainers and rise above their current social status. Young son\nMichael (Juliano Krue Valdi) makes the grandest impression on those around him,\nbursting with natural talent and charisma. Signing with Motown Records, the\nJackson 5 deliver hit single after hit single. Unfortunately, Michael feels\nisolated, escaping into books like Peter Pan<\/em>. Even as an adult, the\nwhole family moves together to Los Angeles, with Michael (Jaafar Jackson) still\nunder his controlling father\u2019s thumb. Naturally, he wants to break free and\nbecome a solo artist. Along with the help of bodyguard Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel\nJones), manager John Branca (Miles Teller) and other members of CBS Records,\nMichael realizes his vision and becomes the biggest artist in the world. But it\nleads to more tension between himself and dad Joe, who insists his youngest\ncontinue recording and touring with the Jackson 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jaafar Jackson is the nephew of the late Michael Jackson\nand, as you might imagine, is absolutely perfect in the role. He looks and\nsounds identical to the real figure and it\u2019s easy to forget that you aren\u2019t\nwatching Michael himself (Valdi, as the young iteration of the performer, is\nalso exceptional in the first section of the movie). The film effectively\nestablishes how cut-off the artist is from the rest of the world. Early on, he\neven notes that he can\u2019t make friends because all other kids do is stare at\nhim, leading him to develop some eccentric interests. There are also good\nmoments with bodyguard Bray, who becomes something of a friend and attempts to\nadvise Michael to move out and start a new chapter on his own.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie\u2019s best moments, expectedly, involve the star\u2019s\nmusic and the recording industry. There are some amusing behind-the-scenes\ninteractions with record producers and executives, as well as entertaining\ndepictions of the artist working to create a new image for himself with the\ndevelopment of a fresh sound, music videos, and dance moves. There is even a\nmemorable turn from Mike Myers as the CBS Records president trying to please\nthe determined artist and get his videos on MTV. All these sequences work well.\nAnd it wouldn\u2019t be a Michael Jackson biopic without concert footage. The\nrecreations are energetically performed and exciting to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, it\u2019s all polished and well-made, although one\ncan\u2019t help but note the surface-level treatment of the main character. We do\nget a sense that Michael is in a state of arrested development, but no one in\nthe family ever refers to it, or that a man in his late 20s has seemingly no\ninterest in socializing with women or, well, anyone at all. Perhaps it\u2019s meant\nto be addressed in a follow-up film, but it should have been noted here. Beyond\nhis musical ambitions and fear of his father, we never get a sense of the man\u2019s\ninner life or feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another curious note is the lack of Janet Jackson. All of\nthe other family members are featured, but Michael\u2019s youngest sister (who grew\nup with him in Indiana) is nowhere to be seen in the story. The film also ends\non an off-note, as Michael attempts to finally extract himself from his\nfather\u2019s control. It\u2019s dealt with too abruptly, and the last act appears more\nfocused on presenting dynamic live performances than the personal drama hinted\nat earlier in the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fans of the \u201cKing of Pop\u201d will certainly enjoy Michael.<\/em>\nThe music is top-notch, as are many of the moments involving the recording of\nseveral famous tracks. And the lead performance is fantastic too. But viewers\nshould note that the screenplay doesn\u2019t really give more than a surface level\nexamination of its subject or deal in any way with, to use an idiom, \u201cthe\nelephant in the room\u201d. It\u2019s a good biopic, but unless a sequel arrives with\nmore answers, this doesn\u2019t seem like a definitive portrait of the remarkable\nartist. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 127 minutes This feature from Lionsgate Films opens exclusively at cinemas and on IMAX screens on April 24th. A few years back, when the Warner Bros. adaptation of the book Dune opened at theaters, many were surprised to see the film come to an end only halfway through the story. The studio noted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[20,217,2789,4628,6251,10074,11150,12473,12474,13753,13796,13797,13938,13963,14425,14429,15289,22825,23562],"class_list":["post-33396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-keilyn-durrel-jones-juliano-krue-valdi","tag-217","tag-biopic","tag-colman-domingo","tag-drama","tag-jaafar-jackson","tag-juliano-krue-valdi","tag-lionsgate","tag-lionsgate-films","tag-michael","tag-michael-jackson","tag-michael-jackson-biopic","tag-mike-myers","tag-miles-teller","tag-music","tag-musical","tag-off-the-wall","tag-thriller","tag-universal"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}