Michael (12A)

Jaafar Jackson portrays his late uncle in a biographical drama directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, which focuses instead on the singer's rise to global superstardom as the cherubic lead of The Jackson Five and his solo forays with the albums Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad. Success comes at a cost to relationships with his controlling father Joe and mother Katherine and as Michael's star rises, some of his siblings feel resentment that they can't join him in the stratosphere.

LondonNet Film Review

Michael (12A) Film Review from LondonNet

Jaafar Jackson keeps it in the family, portraying his late uncle in a biographical drama directed by Antoine Fuqua, which focuses on the singer’s dizzying rise to global superstardom as part of The Jackson 5 and as a solo artist. Executive produced by five of Michael’s siblings and his eldest son Prince, this hagiographic history lesson spends almost two hours prostrate in posthumous veneration, depicting its chart-topping subject as a sweet-natured and sensitive saint in an industry controlled by devils…

Iron-fisted steel mill worker Joe Jackson (Colman Domingo) is determined to drag his family out of Gary, Indiana by creating a wholesome musical band that trades on the family name, comprising sons Jackie (Nathaniel McIntyre), Tito (Judah Edwards), Jermaine (Jayden Harville), Marlon (Jaylen Hunter) and Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi). The patriarch brandishes his leather belt as a whip in the face of dissent from the boys and demands obedience as he builds the foundations of The Jackson 5. Youngest child Michael catches the eye of Motown record label founder Berry Gordy (Larenz Tate) and his kind mentorship over the years eventually inspires 20-year-old Michael (now played by Jaafar Jackson) to strike out on his own. “I’m not a boy in a kid band any more,” Michael bravely tells his father.

Joe sees dollar signs as Michael becomes one of the biggest stars on the planet with the albums Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad. The father is determined to capitalise on his son’s success and pressgangs Michael into performing alongside his brothers Jackie (Joseph David Jones) Tito (Rhyan Hill), Jermaine (Jamal Henderson) and Marlon (Tre’ Horton) on a global tour.

Michael moonwalks reverentially from 1966 to 1988, culminating in the singer’s barnstorming performance at Wembley Stadium as part of the Bad World Tour. Jaafar Jackson recreates pivotal performances with jaw-dropping gusto. He wasn’t born when any of the songs featured in Fuqua’s film were originally released but it feels like he is channelling his uncle’s spirit. A sequence devoted to the making of the Thriller video is electrifying, leading to a cameo from an unrecognisable Mike Myers as CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff, who threatens to pull his entire stable of artists from MTV unless the station runs Michael’s videos for the Thriller album.

Screenwriter John Logan projects Michael’s actions through a rose-tinted lens and the film stops well before the first allegations of abuse made headlines in 1993. A sequel has been mooted – Fuqua’s first cut was reportedly around four hours and included key moments beyond the late 1980s. In terms of dramatic meat, a second film would be the main course. Michael is a tasty but excessively sweetened starter.

– Jo Planter