Michael (2026)
The complicated, for lack of a better word, life of pop superstar Michael Jackson becomes an over-simplified hagiography in Antoine Fuqua's film Michael.
Michael is played by Michael Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson as a teen and adult and by Juliano Valdi as a child. The film starts in Gary, IN, as Michael and his brothers are being whipped into musical shape by their abusive mill worker father Joe (Colman Domingo). As the Jackson Five become superstars, Michael wants to pursue his own path, but Joe wants to remain in control.
The film ends with Michael still at the peak of his fame in the 1980s, so the accusations of child molestation and the massive financial settlements related to those accusations are unaddressed. Many detractors have understandably complained about this. However, even if one accepts the movie's desire to be solely about Michael's rise to the top, the film still does not work on those terms.
There's little in the way of character development or psychological insight. Michael is presented as a saintly innocent with a few odd hobbies. Last year's dull Springsteen biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere was also officially sanctioned by the star and one of its flaws was it featured far too many scenes of Springsteen's manager rhapsodizing about his genius. Michael goes above and beyond that. Dozens of characters in countless scenes either gush about Michael's brilliance or gaze adoringly at him.
Domingo
and Valdi fare the best of the performers. While there is pleasure to be had in
hearing wall-to-wall Jackson Five and Thriller-era Michael Jackson songs—and
based on the box office, audiences are clearly eager to do just this—it makes
for a biopic that fails to show viewers anything new.
