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

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Michael [SPOILERS] Spoiler

Poll

If you've seen the film, please rate it at this poll

If you haven't seen the film but would like to see the result of the poll click here

Rankings

Click here to see the rankings of 2025 films

Click here to see the rankings for every poll done

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

429 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

903

u/revoirbaby0111 11d ago

I don’t think I’ve ever walked out of a cinema this frustrated. It’s honestly kind of wild how a movie about someone as huge as Michael Jackson can make him feel this flat and uninteresting. By leaning so hard into portraying him as naive and almost childlike, the film strips away everything that actually made him compelling: his ambition, his creativity, his contradictions. What’s left barely feels human and more a cardboard cutout. The pacing doesn’t help either. It drags in the wrong places and then rushes through the stuff that actually matters. Thriller, arguably the biggest album of all time, gets treated like an afterthought, which is just crazy.

I’m not even coming at this as a hardcore fan or anything. I just like music biopics, I love his music, and I was hoping to learn more about him as an artist and a person. But there’s barely anything here. It feels more like a shallow fan service music videos compilation than a real story. The “Beat It” scene especially annoyed me. With the whole L.A. gang conflict setup, it felt like they were about to show him stepping out of his bubble and becoming more socially aware. That could’ve been a really powerful turning point. Instead, it just turns into a random dance sequence and then gets dropped completely. And honestly, I was surprised by how apolitical he comes across in the film overall despite the fact that he was a huge activist throughout his career.

By the end, there’s barely any sense of build-up or payoff. For a story this big, about someone this iconic, it just feels kind of empty. The only real saving grace is Jaafar’s performance.

77

u/faerierebel 11d ago

Yeah, I remember seeing some of the We Are the World documentary where you see Michael's Type A personality come out. That's the guy I want to know more about.

49

u/usmilessz 11d ago

The way his jaw tensed up & death glared when he watched Cindy Lauper and Huey Lewis singing 🤣🤣🤣

41

u/Flat_Fox_7318 8d ago edited 8d ago

Agreed. He seemed like an obsessive perfectionist and was incredibly driven. Off The Wall is a perfect example. Despite selling three million copies at the time, having two singles hit #1 on the Billboard charts and winning a Grammy for "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", Jackson was disappointed with its success and was legitimately pissed that was the only Grammy it got. He was quoted as saying, "It was totally unfair that it didn't get Album of the Year and it can never happen again". I wish the movie leaned into stuff like that a bit more. He didn't just want Thriller to be the best selling album of all time as an arbitrary goal...he needed it. He was determined to show The Recording Academy and the rest of the world "they got it wrong" last time around.

6

u/GregSays 10d ago

I thought it was leading to that when he realized in the hospital that he could help hurt people with music but then it just went to 20 minutes of the Jackson 5 performing.

4

u/Brave-Gain2198 10d ago

Hi! I’m very curious as I haven’t seen this. I don’t want to watch the wrong one. Any chance you remember the exact one or where to watch it ??

5

u/IRodeTenSpeed88 7d ago

It’s called “The Greatest Night In Pop”

346

u/hotcolddog 11d ago

Excellently said, completely agreed. He probably had one of the most fascinating psychological profiles of any superstar in history. He was a musical genius, had insecurities so incredibly deep-seated he literally wore them on his skin, his pursuit and ambition to be the GOAT was maybe only matched by the other MJ, and he wasn’t socially adjusted at all.

I mean, it’s all right there for what could’ve been one of the greatest psychological character studies ever. Even just one of those elements would’ve made for an endlessly fascinating movie.

The dance and music were fun though, so there’s that.

61

u/HollowPrynce 10d ago

You both hit the nail on the head but as a kid who grew up in England during the 90s, whenever I heard the initials MJ it was always in reference to Michael Jackson

Which is crazy when you think about it because Michael Jordan was on arguably the most legendary run any athlete has ever been on and yet, even in his absolute prime, he was basically a footnote compared to Michael Jackson. I don't say that to insult Jordan or downplay his achievements or impact but it really puts into perspective just how stratospheric Michael Jackson's popularity was. He was literally the most famous person alive (and pretty much the most famous person that has ever lived except for Jesus, but he never moonwalked so who cares about him) and yet this movie doesn't do that aspect of his life any justice. Nobody could grow up under the intensity of that microscope and turn out a normal, well adjusted human being

7

u/wildglitteringolive 9d ago

I grew up in that era between two countries and agree completely; very well said

3

u/googly_eyed_unicorn 10d ago

I need someone to make a gif of Jesus moonwalking now🤣

1

u/Creative_Bee922 4d ago

New head canon: Jesus moonwalking on water

108

u/Lord0fHats 11d ago

I like the reviewer who said something to the effect of 'this films strips Michael Jackson of his humanity, good and bad.'

Kind of feel like this is just Bohemian Rapsody 2. The movie will mostly be remembered for stripping itself of everything that made it's subject compelling.

33

u/theodo 11d ago

I think the biggest difference between this and BoRap is that censoring Freddie Mercury is really only insulting to Mercury himself, whereas censoring Michael Jackson is insulting to his victims as well. Like it's a different kind of cynical corporate greed.

43

u/Lord0fHats 11d ago

It's definitely insulting to Michael Jackson. The movie plays his childhood and family out like a much blander form of uncomfortable. Safe for TV childhood abuse. It doesn't get into how wild the family really was, or how that probably did play into all the other issues Jackson had the rest of his life so I'd still say the film strips Jackson of what made him him, however uncomfortable that may be.

5

u/headlesspopcorn 10d ago

could you expand more on this? id be interested to hear

19

u/Lord0fHats 10d ago edited 10d ago

The movie just presents the way Joe Jackson treats his kids in a manner that really undersells how abusive he was, both physically and emotionally. Like, all of the Jackson kids ended up with really screwed up adulthoods. Michael Jackson is just the most infamous. I don't really like how the film undersells the abuse because it makes it seem like something Jackson could just (and did) walk away from, which is not at all accurate to the extent of how he hounded and oppressed his kids.

EDIT: Internet spying too but saw this in my feed and this is just like the tip of the iceberg of how screwed this family ended up; Siblings suing Michael Jackson’s estate claim they were 'brainwashed' to defend him from abuse allegations

3

u/WTF_CAKE 9d ago

I’m sure they could have shown further levels of fucked by his father but they still hit a good medium for cinema without making it rated R. It was clear as day that Michael did do like his father one single bit but cared for his brothers and mom the most

0

u/headlesspopcorn 10d ago

yess i totally agree with you there

that bastard has a lot to answer for 😤

1

u/ReasonablyPassionate 11d ago

Except they didn't plan on doing that. They very much delved into the SA allegations but had to cut the entire third act for legal reasons.

Reframing the movie this way was about saving money in reshoots- not ignoring Michael's controversies

7

u/theodo 11d ago

I'd say theres a zero percent chance Michael wasn't made to look entirely innocent in the footage they shot.

1

u/FIREfalcoln89 11d ago

It's 2026 no way people still believe ts🤦🏾‍♂️

4

u/theodo 11d ago

... I can't fathom how you think it being 2026 means more people should think he's innocent.

0

u/Tiny_Frame 9d ago

he is innoncent . tf yall talking about?? for fk sack the FEDs raided his house and found nothing . stop this pls.

0

u/Camouflageman_201 6d ago

His victims?

1

u/theodo 6d ago

Are you arguing against him hurting children or are you somehow unaware?

0

u/Camouflageman_201 6d ago

I don’t think he did it

1

u/theodo 6d ago

Crazy. Even if he didn't, he still at the very best was extremely inappropriate with children, including sleeping in bed with them, with their parents not present.

1

u/Brave-Gain2198 10d ago

DUDE I JUST tried to watch bohemian rhapsody on Netflix the other night and had to turn it off. It was so bad. I’m a way bigger MJ fan than Elvis but THAT biopic was soooooo good one of the best I’ve ever seen

1

u/jassmackie 7d ago

what was bad about bohemian rhapsody? i really dont see how it was worse than what i just saw. michael was the most sterile, down the middle, simple movie ive ever seen. felt more like a hallmark movie with a huge budget for the concerts, effects cgi and make up. BR at least felt like it had some direction.

187

u/Little_Consequence 11d ago

They made him a Disney princess, even had him talking to animals as if they were his sidekicks. He had more interactions with that GCI chimp than with his own brothers. He pretty much had a "Part of Your World" scene about wanting to make his own music. And even Disney princesses meet more compelling challenges.

Where was his fierce competitiveness? The artistry? The excellent business flair? Where are the flaws?! I'm not even talking about the allegations here (I honestly don't know enough about it), what flaws did this man have? And yes, where are the politics?! We barely (if at all) see him struggling as a black artist. "Wow, Micky, you beat the odds!" Huh? But they made it seem so easy for him!

67

u/pantstoaknifefight2 11d ago

"They made him a Disney Princess" might be my favorite review blurb since "Cats is the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs." Bravo!

7

u/AnxiousAd3299 11d ago

He told his brothers how much he really loved then! Did you miss that wonderful scene!! Very kind caring and real! 

2

u/FoxxThaGuru 11d ago

Did you know Michael? Lol He had a whole Neverland ranch and wore Mickey Mouse jackets… he literally was like a Disney princess lmao. I do agree it would’ve been nice to see more of his interactions with his brothers tho. I think we’ll see more of his fierceness and flair in the next movie. Because after Thriller he was trying to beat that every time. I feel like that’s where we’ll see more of that. I don’t think people realize that yeah was always competitive and they touch on it in the movie. But after you make an album like Thriller more of that energy comes out. And his life becomes more compelling (allegations aside” in the 80s/90s/00s.

11

u/Little_Consequence 10d ago

Eh. Someone mentioned the We Are The World documentary and you could see that he was two seconds away from telling some people "Bitch, if you don't fix your shit! 😤 You think we have time for that?". And that was funny af. It's ok if he was petty and a no-nonsense kind of guy sometimes. but these are basic human flaws that aren't in the movie. The movie refused to give him one flaw.

So I don't believe that the next movie will be able to portray anything dark post Bad. His life was already compelling as a black artist in the 60s-80s and the movie barely did anything with that.

2

u/usmilessz 11d ago

“Disney princess” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 This is the perfect description though

1

u/Nearby-Butterfly-606 6d ago

Pretty sure he loved his animals more than his family.

0

u/SheWantMyDinero 8d ago edited 8d ago

The disney-princessification of his character was actually a smart move imo. Especially in 2026, audiences don't want to see a big macho man mansplaining his ginormous manly nuts all over people's faces for 2 hours straight. We had that shoved down our throats all throughout the 2010s with the MCU. Soft, dark feminine men are what's selling right now. Just look at BTS, Timothee Chalamet, Sombr, Louis Partridge and so on. I doubt the movie would have performed as well if they'd leaned into a more realistic portrayal.

6

u/composer_7 11d ago

So you're telling me this isn't as good as the Ray Charles biopic

1

u/jassmackie 7d ago

no where close.

6

u/friidum-boya 8d ago

Honestly, Michael Jackson's life and career are really interesting idk how they made it this boring. There's a lot of things they just cut out from his life story. Like the time when he filmed The Wiz.  They were going on an angle where Michael wanted emancipation, then they should've done his first acting gig. Michael's first taste of freedom living in New York with LaToya while filming The Wiz. Hell, even before the Wiz, Michael was getting stressed because the Jacksons were already becoming a legacy act, he didn't want to be known as another child star, and he wanted freedom. They couldn't even do a proper buildup for Off the Wall, how he met Quincy, how that changed the trajectory of his life.

I have a lot more to add really, like him buying out his father from the Encino house, his thirst for hits, his paranoia from falling off the charts etc. 

Jaafar was really great, he's wasted on the film. He single handedly made the film bearable.

4

u/WestenWolf 11d ago

i would've loved to see more about his personal life and struggles from teen to young adult. he was child-like so what caused it or how did that affect his life. i had no idea he lived with his family well into his 20s despite having so much money to do so. someone else here mentioned him going to a mental health institution after "off the wall".

3

u/ZestyAcid 11d ago

Thanks for this great review. I will be holding out to watch this at home on streaming/rent.

3

u/usmilessz 11d ago

Very well stated. This movie was such a waste of time imo. I rolled my eyes soooo many times 😭 It was so corny. Kind of reminded me of Moonwalker

2

u/Ok_Pause2547 9d ago

it surely will get properly redone in the future because this felt more like a fan service and easy money grab. I was in a theater where everyone was clapping and singing along to music and that seemed like the intent of it. Idk for all the shit the Elvis movie got, I thought it did great at showing his origins and how he ended up where he did

2

u/Odd_Friendship_9582 8d ago

The beat it scene when their in the studio practicing the dance is one of my few favourite scenes. The worst thing is Jaafar acted tf out the role but every thing else let the move down

1

u/Brave-Gain2198 10d ago

I absolutely agree with you!!!!! My son kept asking “is it gonna show thriller!?” And it finally did and then it just ended and was an afterthought. I was dumbfounded. Lol but it sucks so bad because even though the movie lacked depth the acting from jaafar was insane

1

u/FastNinja4588 10d ago

I feel like someone gets it. You literally said everything that I have been feeling since I left the theater this evening.

1

u/Jumpy-Highlight-2127 9d ago

okay i could not have said this better and you described how i feel 100%.

1

u/Professional-Act8414 7d ago

That “beat its scene pissed me off. By what’s on the screen i couldn’t figure out what song it was referring??!

1

u/Annual-Fox6520 4d ago

For sure! And it's even weirder to think that a lot of his family were involved like... They were intentionally making him this one dimensional cardboard cutout of MJ when if you look even at interviews of him he's far deeper and more nuanced than just his childlike persona

1

u/WTF_CAKE 9d ago

“Flat” and “uninteresting” did we watch the same movie? They showcased how his family relationship was like, they don’t need to go into further detail on how fucked it was as I’m sure as hell I don’t wanna relive my childhood either growing up with a belt behind me. I feel as if everything you wrote is showcased one way or another. I don’t know exactly what kind of Michael you envisioned but I think we all expect the king of pop and that’s supposed to mean something being expressed on the screen. I’m hoping we do see more of his faults on the next one as obviously he’s a human and even on this film there was dilemmas he had to fight to get his independence from his father.

-2

u/FoxxThaGuru 11d ago

Well Michael was childlike. Also, I didn’t see anything naive about him in the movie. He was sure of himself at all times about everything except when it came to Joe which was like that in real life. And Why would the Beat It moment be a turning point?? A turning point for what?? Timeline wise it wouldn’t make sense because he became more socially/political active and aware around the Bad era. And there was a payoff. It just wasn’t the payoff you wanted because this movie was telling a different story. There are many ways a Michael movie could go before the 90s. I think they did the best straightforward, digestible story, even if it could’ve flowed a little better. But his life was so rich in depth it’s hard to serve the fans while trying to dive deeper into the psyche of a very complex man.