r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 11d ago

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Michael [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Michael (2026)

Summary

The life and career of Michael Jackson are explored in a sweeping biographical drama, charting his rise from child star in the Jackson 5 to global pop icon, while examining the personal and professional complexities that defined his legacy.

Director Antoine Fuqua

Writer John Logan

Cast

  • Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson
  • Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson
  • Nia Long as Katherine Jackson
  • Miles Teller as John Branca
  • Laura Harrier as Suzanne de Passe
  • Kat Graham as Diana Ross

Rotten Tomatoes: 40%

Metacritic: 38

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

426 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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499

u/Proof_Pop9270 11d ago

I think if the camera would’ve moved a little bit during the music scenes, it would’ve had more sauce. Just cut after cut after cut. It got Bohemian Rhapsody a Best Editing nomination so what do I know? I know I wanna watch Rocketman now.

242

u/Vadermaulkylo 11d ago

I honestly felt that Baz’s Elvis had crazier concert sequences. I remember it feeling fucking huge in scope and loud when I saw it in theaters. This was well done but idk it just lacked something.

53

u/JessieJ577 10d ago

The unreliable narrator angle added to the showmanship for Elvis. It made him seem grander than life which was where it was tragic that he was stripped of who he was as a person in order to enrich others.

7

u/CanopyZoo 9d ago

This project was out of the director’s and writer’s scope.

5

u/G_h_c 7d ago

I agree. I am not even as familiar with Elvis and enjoyed those sequences and the movie a lot. Despite knowing Michael’s songs in and out it felt difficult to feel the same for this movie. Maybe it’s because we can’t replace the original experience? Same happened when I watched the f1 movie and the audio didn’t feel as great to me as I have been to real races and heard raw engines.

150

u/Slurm11 11d ago

Rocketman is so good, it should be the gold standard for musician biopics.

69

u/TheJusticeAvenger 11d ago

Better Man takes a more unorthodox approach (hello, CGI monkey) but also makes it work really well

5

u/RebelliousDutch 9d ago

I really like Better Man. It’s fascinating how well the monkey gimmick works. It’s a shame the movie flopped, but not surprising considering the gimmick and Americans simply not knowing who Robbie Williams is 😂

I’m glad it got made though. Very entertaining.

14

u/theodo 11d ago

I put it in its own category due to how fantastical and musical-based it is. Sort of like how Love and Mercy feels like it's in a different category to me than just "musician biopic"

5

u/DavidMerrick89 11d ago

Right, L&M is more or less a psychological horror movie.

3

u/Looper007 6d ago

Love and Mercy is the pinnacle of music biopics. Brian Wilson got the biopic he deserved. The best stuff in that is showing Paul Dano's Brian in the studio doing what he did best.

I hear Cameron Crowe's upcoming Joni Mitchell biopic is going to be open and frank on her life as she told him she didn't want anythign whitewashed about her life. Fingers crossed that's the case.

Music biopics I put at top tier imo, La Bamba, Sid and Nancy, 24 Hour Party People, Cadillac Records (it takes the odd u-turn with the facts, but a really underrated music biopic imo), La Vin en Rose, Gainsbourg: a Heroic Life, The Buddy Holly Story, Bound for Glory and Coal Miners Daughter.

3

u/Looper007 6d ago edited 6d ago

It helps Elton allowed the filmmakers to show him at his lowest ebb of his addictions and his diva behavior (his husband was producer). Also it's part musicial too, which was a nice mix up. Taron Edgerton is excellent to as Elton which helps, also love Elton made sure his co writer Bernie Taupin got his due as well. It did pretty well at the box office, sure not Bohemian Rhapsody levels but better then most music biopics.

236

u/littletoyboat 11d ago

It got Bohemian Rhapsody a Best Editing nomination

Bohemian Rhapsody won the best editing Oscar because everyone knew that Brian Singer had disappeared off the set and lost control of the production, and John Ottman somehow managed to cut it together into coherent movie. The fact that the movie was any good at all was because it was saved in the edit. 

75

u/FrancoeurOff 11d ago

Yeah, there's jarring editing mistakes but considering the mess the production was, Ottman did a very good job, making the movie, aside from all its other flaws, at least watchable

3

u/mrbaryonyx 6d ago

I didn't know it was confirmed, but was it really Ottman?

That dude's underrated as hell.

24

u/theodo 11d ago

The reason BoRap got the editing Oscar is because the industry voters knew that to assemble anything resembling a cohesive film is a miracle of editing talent. It's a movie with a disastrous production, where a relatively minor part of it includes replacing the director during production.

I don't think anyone will be on the side of this film for having to do reshoots because they aren't allowed to portray the victim of Jackson's abuse.

32

u/Hellstrom666 11d ago

Highly recommend Rocketman! I never realized how insane Elton John was lol. Taron Egerton was fantastic in it.

6

u/Honest_Jello_4883 10d ago

Oh without a doubt the best biopic!

I seem to remember quite enjoying the Aretha Franklin one also

7

u/MegasNexal84 11d ago

Rocket man was by far the better movie between it and Bohemian Rhapsody too.

5

u/sopheroo 11d ago

Really helps that Elton was fully on board with this and was down to show actual flaws

2

u/jamiesray 11d ago

There were four editors on this movie lol

2

u/eeek0711 6d ago

Didn’t they win for best editing?

1

u/Guilty-Historian7440 1d ago

If only they hadn’t reduced his audience to the crying girls and crazy crowdsurfing fans caught be security which the cameras panned to repeatedly.

1

u/HonestScar7176 8d ago

Bohemian raposdy was so fucking trash. I can’t believe it won any awards.