I haven’t stopped because I can’t get enough of the latest film from director Antoine Fuqua, “Michael,” a biopic following the early life of music icon Michael Jackson.
This film is a biopic following the life of music icon Jackson and how he rose from a poor child from Gary, Ind, to a global superstar.
This film explores the complicated life of Jackson, starting in the late 1960s when he and his brothers were formed into the “The Jackson 5.” Their father, Joseph Jackson, portrayed by Colman Domingo, gives a breathtaking performance throughout the entire movie and shows how antagonistic Joseph was.
What stood out most to me during The Jackson 5 era was the performance by Juliano Valdi, who portrayed young Jackson. During the scene where the band records the hit single “I Want You Back,” Valdi displayed his raw vocal talent as young Jackson recorded his opening verse in the studio, as the film cut to a sequence backed by the remainder of the song.
The film cuts to 1981, and this is where we get our first look at Jaafar Jackson portraying his uncle, Michael. The scene picks up with Jackson speaking to the heads of his record company that he would like to create a solo album.
Jackson and his team are able to hash out the details of creating the album, and we see Jackson in the recording studio with legendary producer Quincy Jones, ready to record. Quincy presses record in the studio, and the beat to “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough” begins to play. We then hear Jaafar start to sing the opening to the song. After a few lyrics, we cut to another montage, this time seeing the success of Jackson’s first solo album, “Off the Wall.”
I also enjoyed the way the film adopted a lot of Jackson’s music videos. While Michael was putting together his legendary album “Thriller,” he wanted to make it the best-selling album of all time and make as many music videos as he could for certain songs.
By far the most outstanding video the film covers is the music video for “Beat It.” Jackson got the idea for the “Beat It” video after seeing multiple news stories about ongoing gang violence in California.
Jackson wanted to have authentic gang members in the video as a way to unite the public. He treated the gangsters like regular people, rather than hiring actors.
My favorite part of the film was the performance of “Human Nature”. Jackson and his brothers are on their infamous “Victory” tour, and they are on their last stop at Dodger Stadium. Most of the song montages throughout the movie are the recording of the real Jackson, but this entire sequence was all Jaafar’s vocals.
This performance was magical; It felt like I was in the audience of the concert. Jaafar put so much raw emotion into this performance, and it showed. There are parts where the entire crowd sings with him, and those parts hit even harder.
After the concert, the film cuts to 1988 when Jackson is beginning the “Bad” tour, with the first show in London. We get to see an entire performance of Jackson’s hit single “Bad” before the screen cuts to black. Just a few seconds later, the screen reads “His Story Continues,” hinting that there will be a second part to finish Jackson’s story.
Overall, this movie was phenomenal. It is the ultimate love letter to Jackson fans who love his music and him as a person. I can’t say enough good things about this movie and encourage everyone to go out and see it in theaters.
