‘Michael’ review: safe, shiny reminder of the King Of Pop’s musical genius

D espite the attendant controversy and a reportedly chaotic production – more on that later – this Michael Jackson biopic could clean up at the box office. It’s currently tracking for a $60million opening weekend in North America, which would beat the $51million debut of Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018. It’s hard not to view that glossy blockbuster as the blueprint for Michael, not least because the two movies share a producer, Graham King.

Michael’s other producers are John Branca and John McClain, the co-executors of Jackson’s estate. Their goal is to showcase his sparkling discography. Jackson may be the tarnished King Of Pop but he’s still big business. Nearly 17 years after his death, he racks up more monthly Spotify streams than any other non-living artist. 

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, who began his career shooting music videos before levelling up with blockbusters such as 2014’s The Equalizer, Michael is a much safer movie than it might have been. According to a recent Variety report, the third act was supposed to explore how Jackson was impacted by multiple allegations of child molestation in the ’90s and beyond. However, Jackson’s estate reportedly had to fork out for reshoots after it emerged that the singer’s out-of-court settlement with Jordan Chandler, the first of his accusers, included a clause barring Chandler from being depicted on screen. Whatever the truth behind the alleged reshoots, Michael is no career-spanning biopic.

It means that Jackson’s story essentially ends in the early ’80s. ‘Thriller’ has become the best-selling album of all time but the tabloids have yet to brand him “Wacko Jacko”. Instead, the film’s dramatic tension comes from his fractious relationship with his father Joe (Colman Domingo), an exacting ‘dadager’ who beats young Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi) with a belt.

Fuqua’s film skips through Michael’s early hits with The Jackson 5 – ‘ABC’, ‘I’ll Be There’, ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ – before focusing on his solo breakthrough via 1978’s ‘Off The Wall’ album. Now played with convincing mannerisms and vocal inflections by Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s real-life nephew, the singer gradually extricates himself from his father’s shadow. 

Along the way, there are frequent reminders of Jackson’s genius. The highlight of the entire film is a dazzling recreation of his ‘Billie Jean’ performance at 1983’s Motown 25 special, during which he performed the moonwalk for the first time. Insights into his creative process are a little less forensic: after Jackson tells manager Branca (Miles Teller) that he wants to be the world’s biggest artist, he goes away and writes the songs that make this happen: ‘Beat It’, ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’. But was it really that easy?

Throughout, the efficient script by John Logan (Gladiator, Skyfall) paints the singer as a benevolent but driven manchild who visits sick kids – and adults – in hospital. There are hints that Jackson’s fondness for cosmetic surgery could become a problem but it’s bizarre that his most famous sibling, Janet Jackson, is never even mentioned.

So, Michael feels like a job well done: it’s a slick, accessible advert for Jackson’s incredible imperial phase. But if the singer’s estate wanna be startin’ somethin’ bigger like a film franchise, they’ll have their work cut out.