Michael (2026)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  7 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: The music biopic is an appealing formula, not only because it's interesting for audiences to see the story behind their favourite stars, but also because seeing a character rise to success in the face of challenge and adversity is a classic hero's arc.
  
  John Logan and Atoine Fuqua's 'Michael,' is a prime example of that working, as it follows Michael Jackson (played by Michael's own nephew Jaafar) being worked like a dog by his own father to make it big as part of the Jackson Five, and then ultimately finding the strength to break free of him and make it on his own.
  
  That's a fascinating story, and one with a triumphant character arc at its centre, particularly because Jackson's father Joseph (Colman Domingo) is portrayed so horribly. He beats young Michael (Juliano Valdi) when he doesn't want to rehearse and treats him as a star rather than a son, and later he does everything he can to get Michael to keep playing with his brothers; prohibiting him from making his own music during working hours, and lurching for any opportunity for brand deals and promotions to make the family money.
  
  We see how that robbed Michael of his teenage development years, and how it puts stress and strain on him, so, in his spare time, he decides to get a new manager, make Thriller - you know, the best-selling album of all time - and on the subsequent Victory Four with the Five, finally face up to his father and declare it as the band's farewell.
  
  That's a rewarding arc to go on with him, and that's only empathised by the performance and recording sequences which portray his indelible talent extremely well.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: It has to be said that the execution is rather by-the-numbers, and it doesn't delve deep enough into the emotional turmoil to truly hit home. As is often the case with decade-spanning stories, that's partly because there's so much to get through, so scenes are kept short and much is delivered through montage. That means the character scenes often feel undercooked (it doesn't help either how bad some of the dialogue is) and we don't get much time to understand the writing and recording process either. That's a shame given the emotional potential of this particular story, but it all ends up feeling a little surface-level in the end.
  
  VERDICT: 'Michael's compelling story is enough to make for an engaging film on its own, but the execution does let it down slightly.

  Like?

  0 member like this review.