Less Thriller, More ABC
by: BTM - Fri, 08 May 2026
Videographer Danny Sokov reviews Michael, a glossy new biopic that celebrates the King of Pop’s artistry while shying away from deeper, more difficult questions.
In this new era of musical biopics, where we have already seen brilliant depictions of Freddie Mercury, Bruce Springsteen and even the King of Rock ’n’ Roll himself, Elvis Presley, it was only a matter of time until the King of Pop graced our screens. Where those films explored the men behind the legends, warts and all, this one is far more interested in the legend behind the man.
A highly sanitised, Jackson estate-approved venture that plays more like a greatest hits album, Michael tiptoes through Michael Jackson’s early years, his rise to fame with the Jackson 5 and his strained relationship with patriarch Joe Jackson, played with sinister flair by Colman Domingo. Jaafar Jackson deserves enormous praise for his uncanny embodiment of his late uncle, but equal credit belongs to Juliano Krue Valdi, who is remarkable in his on-screen debut as the younger Michael.
We get a glossy look at the talent, the heart, the dedication and the love for his craft, with just enough of the later controversies hinted at through creeping shadows. The film culminates, whether smartly or meekly, on the cusp of the 1980s ending, with Michael at his most free, at the second coming of his career and with the promise of a potential sequel.
Director Antoine Fuqua, best known for Training Day, is no stranger to music videos, having worked with Toni Braxton and Prince, and directed Coolio’s iconic Gangsta’s Paradise. That influence shows in the live performance sequences. They are undeniably impressive, but they also consume a large chunk of the film’s final third at the expense of what could have been stronger storytelling.
I
n the end, it is an adequate paint-by-numbers film for fans of the early music, rather than the in-depth artistic exploration that one of the greatest performers of multiple generations, and one of the most intriguing figures of the last century, truly deserves.
3/5
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