April 28, 2026 – This musical biography of pop music giant Michael Jackson doesn't tell the whole story about him, but it does cover some 20 years of his life and some of the most popular music he made during the time from 1966 to the late 1980s. It appears there will be a followup movie to cover the rest of his life. The movie is directed by one of Hollywood's best, Antoine Fuqua (“The Magnificent Seven” and “The Equalizer”).

If you are looking for a movie about child molestation, this is not it. Reportedly, this film was going to include that subject, but ran into legal problems regarding the right to depict incidents covered by legal settlements with the Jackson Estate. The nearest thing to that subject in the movie are scenes of Jackson visiting children who are being cared for in hospitals, and those scenes did remind me of that uncomfortable subject. There is a film about that aspect of Jackson's life, called “Leaving Neverland” (2019) which can be found online.

Whatever you think about Jackson as a person, he was a hell of a performer. A guy I used to work with once told me, “I can't understand anything that boy sings, but he sure can dance.” It wasn't just the dancing, it was the clothing and the props he used on stage and the elaborate music videos. It was the whole performance package.

This movie is built around Jackson's unique musical and theatrical talents, along with his relationship with his family, his bodyguard, his business agent, and record company officials. Michael Jackson is played by his lookalike nephew, Jaafar Jackson (the son of Michael Jackson's brother, Jermaine Jackson). The musical numbers in the movie are expertly staged, including both stage and studio sessions.

The excellent actor Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) plays Michael Jackson's overbearing father, Joseph Jackson, who is the movie's main villain. He is shown beating a very young Michael (played as a child by Juliano Krue Valdi) with a belt on more than one occasion. He is also shown relentlessly drilling his sons in music rehearsals and dance moves. Joseph Jackson is also depicted as trying to benefit unduly from the work of his sons, Michael in particular. At the same time, Joseph does seem to be trying to look out for his other four sons who don't have Michael's star power.

Michael appears as a boy, and later as a man, who is apart from other people, except for his mother, Katherine Scruse-Jackson (played by Nia Long of “Missing”). He retreats into fantasy, particularly Peter Pan stories. He buys a number of pet animals that he also calls his friends. Other than his animals and his mother, his best friend seems to be his bodyguard, Bill Bray (played by KeiLyn Durrel Jones of “Fear the Night”).

Michael has a hard time breaking away from his father. When he finally does break away, he still can't directly face his father to tell him he is leaving the Jackson Five business. He hires a law firm to represent him, and chooses to work closely with one influential lawyer, John Branca (played by Miles Teller of “Top Gun: Maverick”). It is Branca who finally sends Joseph Jackson a fax, informing him that he is fired as Michael's manager. FYI, the real Branca is a producer of this film, and is also a co-executor of Michael Jackson's estate.

Michael, now on his own, throws himself into new solo albums, which would become among the best selling albums of all time, with songs like “Thriller” and “Billie Jean.” He is shown working on the groundbreaking Thriller video and working on the dance moves for “Beat It.” The movie includes 13 songs, including songs performed by the Jackson 5 and from three solo albums, including “Off the Wall” and “Bad.” Everything sounds great.

This is a movie aimed at fans of Michael Jackson's music, and that includes me. That is why I went to see it. The music is incredibly popular, which explains why this movie is also incredibly popular. There are a lot of critics who wish this movie would be more like “Leaving Neverland,” but that's not what it is. What it is is a celebration of music, and as such, this movie rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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