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“In this life, you either win or you are a loser.”

These lines spoken by Joseph Jackson (Michael’s father) at the beginning of the film, lies at the heart of its central theme. Joseph beats Michael in his youth to instill discipline. Is Joseph a villain if his harshness stems from a belief that it is for Michael’s benefit? And what does this harshness do to the boy and the celebrated manchild.

The plot is simple yet compelling. The Jacksons have a band as a family, and the climax occurs when Michael, breaks away on his own and to do a solo album. The film deals with the rise and rise of Michael Jackson, dealing with the babysteps he took to move out of his father’s shadow, and oh, there is also the small matter of Michael creating during it all the most compelling pop music ever recorded, along with the greatest selling album of all time. The epic music soundtracks the movie and that is the movie’s greatest selling point.

In between, the film explores emotions of grief, tragedy, triumph, and euphoria. The most affecting moment occurs when Michael is burned during a performance. Despite this tragedy, his resilience shines through as he quickly recovers and even agrees to a family tour with Joseph. He thinks it is for the last time, whereas Joseph wants to turn it into a never-ending, moneymaking tour. Will Michael manage to forge his own path? We all know that he did, but the compelling performances still infuse the film with suspense.

The film’s strength lies in the music: the songs and lyrics, along Michael’s kinetic dancing, yet again win the hearts of the audience. For all its focus on the trials and tribulations of the artist, the film at its best is irresistable fun. The music is energetic and the lyrics meaningful. The costumes are mind-blowing. The glittery clothes matched with the patent leather shoes beautifully capture the essence of the era and stage culture associated with Michael Jackson.

It is dark yet nuanced with entertainment and energy.

The film even attempts to humanize Michael: It shows why Michael undergoes a nose job?: To appear more acceptable to the audience, how artists are willing to do anything to sell themselves.

“My face is not symmetrical for photos,” he says.

Overall, the cinematography is great. The movie crackles with energy especially in the performance sequences. The same is understandable as the director Antoine Fuqua started his career as a director of award-winning music videos.

The film also portrays how love is a force that can change hearts and lead to success. Michael’s father is harsh and cruel, whilst his mother is soft-hearted and understanding.

Michael is scared of Joseph but finds solace in his mother’s lap. As Michael is treated with gentleness by the head of the Motown Berry Gordy in the movie, he responds with a renewed energy that was absent when Michael was training under Joseph. Near the end of the movie, when Michael is breaking away from Joseph and his family’s control, Joseph presciently predicts that he will fall apart away from the family. Could it be that Joseph was the engine that was needed for Michael to become Michael Jackson? Elvis Presley did after all have his Tom Parker to make him the King of Rock & Roll. Was the rise of Michael Jackson to the throne of King of Pop, due to Joseph Jackson or inspite of him. That is a question the movie leaves us to explore.

Michael is a 2026 Hollywood film with a runtime of 2 hours and 7 minutes. It falls into the genre of a biopic with psychological drama, and irresistible entertainment. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Equalizer trilogy) and produced by Lionsgate, its reviews are polarizing: while it was given 1 star out of 5 by the celebrated Roger Ebert site, it has been rated at 7.7/10 on IMDB by fans. It has as its leads the superlative debutant Jaafar Jackson as Michael and Colman Domingo as Joseph Jackson.

I kept on waiting for the song Heal The World to come, but it didn’t show. Perhaps they will show it in the sequel. I am assuming there’s a sequel because it said at the end, “The story continues.”

Was Michael based on a true story? Yes, partially, the film Michael is based on the true life and career of pop superstar Michael Jackson. It is however significantly white-washed too (the breakaway from the paternal Berry Gordy is whitewashed) and the film stops short of the more scandalous times of his life.

Overall, Michael comes across as a kind, compassionate, generous and soft-hearted person. While money does not tempt him, he is driven to make the greatest music of all time. He donates all his earnings for the welfare of the patients at the burn unit where he was admitted. Unlike Joseph, who was materialistic and cared only for fame, popularity and wealth, Michael was the complete opposite.

On the whole, the film deserves appreciation. I‘m looking forward to part 2. And I’m hoping Heal the World will finally be included.

Michael was a true artist. He led a difficult life, but he was not an unkind person. He was a philanthropist and an artist. So go watch the film whilst it’s still running in cinemas. An exhilarating cinematic experience is what you get with Michael.

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