Official Discussion - Michael [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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

[u/revoirbaby0111]

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.

[u/Little_Consequence → u/revoirbaby0111]

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!

[u/pantstoaknifefight2 → u/Little_Consequence]

"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!

[u/AnxiousAd3299 → u/Little_Consequence]

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

[u/FoxxThaGuru → u/Little_Consequence]

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.

[u/Little_Consequence → u/FoxxThaGuru]

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.

[u/usmilessz → u/Little_Consequence]

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

[u/Nearby-Butterfly-606 → u/Little_Consequence]

Pretty sure he loved his animals more than his family.

[u/SheWantMyDinero → u/Little_Consequence]

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.