My Review of Michael (2026)

 

Written by John Logan

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Michael Jackson: "I believe music can change the world. Spread love, joy, and peace. That is what I want the world to feel... magic!"

I'm not gonna lie. I had preconceived notions before watching this biopic. My fear was that it was going to be a heavily sanitised affair and to be honest, those fears were justified. This biopic needed a far more objective pair of hands working on it. That's not what we got here.

Casting Michael Jackson's own nephew Jaafar to play the infamous singer was alarming enough. I'll give Jaafar some credit. He did look and sound enough like his uncle to suspend some disbelief but it's still not something that should've been done in the first place.

Of course the movie started off with Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi) at the start of the Jackson 5 being worked excessively by his his overambitious and violent father, Joe (Colman Domingo). Joe's mistreatment of Michael was something that the movie didn't shy on. It was made pretty clear that Joe had no problem hurting his son for success.

As Michael got older, he wanted a solo career and independence from his family. He needed his legal team to almost trick Joe in order to let him record a solo album. The latter resented Michael's solo success but it was also the thing that gave Michael the confidence to take his career to the next level.

The movie delved into Michael visiting children's hospitals but there was a bigger focus on his body issues. There was scenes that focused on his vitiligo and rhinoplasty. There are some of the stronger moments in this movie along with the consequences of a stage accident.

Getting to the music side of things, most the Jackson 5 and Michael's biggest hits are recreated here. They're done reasonably well with the movie ending on the Bad tour at Wembley Stadium.

- There's some solid performances from Nia Long, Miles Teller and Kendrick Sampson as Katherine Scruse-Jackson, John Branca and Quincy Jones respectively.

- Not all of MJ's siblings feature in the movie and scenes with Kat Graham's Diana Ross were cut from the movie.

- Standout music: The likes of Billie Jean, Bad, I Want You Back etc are done well.

- Chronology: This movie covered from 1969 to 1988 in Michael's career and life.

Michael (2026) needed a more objective pair of hands working on this movie. It's too sanitised  and often quite bland at times too. Jaafar did an okay enough job in taking on his uncle's legacy. It'll make enough for that sequel to happen.

Rating: 6 out of 10