April 21, 2026
Joseph Jackson (Colman Domingo) lived with his wife Katherine (Nia Long) and kids in Gary, Indiana, where he worked in a steel mill. On the side, he was focused in training his sons to perform together as a singing group and marketing them for gigs. He was hardest on 10-year old Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi) who was the cute and charismatic lead singer, and his obsession often led to corporal punishment when he felt he was being disrespected.
One day, Michael's performance caught the attention of Motown talent agent Suzanne de Passe (Laura Harrier). She lost no time to introduce them to her boss Berry Gordy (Larenz Tate) who immediately cut "I Want You Back" that became a big #1 hit. In 1971, they moved to their own home in Encino, California, where adult Michael (Jaafar Jackson) planned on going solo while raising his exotic pets -- python, llama, giraffe and of course, Bubbles.
This film basically told us what we already knew about Michael Jackson's rise to fame via his unique voice and singing abilities. The main focus of the story was on Joseph Jackson's iron hand in handling Michael's career, and how Michael struggled to break free from his father's abusive stranglehold. On the personal side, it showed us Michael's obsession with Peter Pan and classic films, his attachment to his menagerie, his compassion for sick children.
We meet important people in Michael's career -- like his producer Quincy Jones (Kendrick Sampson), his bodyguard Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel Jones), his lawyer John Branca (Miles Teller), CBS mogul Walter Yetnikoff (Mike Myers under all that make-up) who got Michael's videos on MTV, even boxing promoter Don King (Deon Cole) who produced the Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour. It was strange how all the Jackson brothers were there (not sure about Randy?), but among the sisters, only LaToya was featured, no Rebbie nor Janet at all.
The parts of the film that drew the most audience reaction were the recreations of various music videos and concert performances of Michael throughout the years. As already seen in the trailers, Jaafar Jackson (Jermaine's son) trained hard to literally follow his uncle's iconic dancesteps and pretty much nailed them. The highlights are the behind-the-scenes of the "Beat It" and "Thriller" videos, "Billie Jean" at Motown 25 1983, and "Bad" at Wembley Arena 1988.
It touched on his first plastic surgery for his nose, the existence of his vitiligo even prior to "Thriller," and the beginnings of his dependence on pain meds following the fiery Pepsi accident. However, for a biopic that stars Michael's nephew and produced by his siblings, you really cannot expect that they were going to tackle the more unsavory parts of his life. This was clearly for fans only, not viewers who wished to know Michael on a deeper level than the star we all knew. None of his controversial 1990s issues here yet, but it did feel like it was setting up for a Part 2. 6/10
so i think i will skip it na
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