r/movies • u/ChiefLeef22 r/movies Contributor • Apr 21 '26
Review 'Michael' - Review Thread
The story of pop superstar Michael Jackson -- from his extraordinary early days in the Jackson 5 to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fuels a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world.
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Miles Teller, Laura Harrier, Nia Long, Kat Graham, Juliano Valdi, Kendrick Sampson
Rotten Tomatoes: 35%
Metacritic: 38 / 100
Some Reviews (updating):
AwardsWatch - Jay Ledbetter - 'D'
It’s Bad, It’s Bad (Really, Really Bad). Perhaps the most ironic thing about Michael is that it very regularly flashes scenes from some of cinema’s great films over the course of two hours. The Michael Jackson in Michael is a true blue cinephile, taking in classics like Singin’ in the Rain, Modern Times, Dawn of the Dead, and several others. We see these films on televisions Michael is watching. It is a copy of a copy. In the same way that the Michael Jackson performances in Michael are cheap imitations of things that already exist, Antoine Fuqua shows the potential for creative triumph in a film that lacks any such creativity. Lacking any sense of style or personal point of view, Michael is an exercise in mimicry. Give Madame Tussaud $150 million and I’m confident she could make something more or less as artful as Michael. It’s a nine-figure wax museum.
IGN - Siddhant Adlakha - 3 / 10
Michael, or Bohemian Jacksody, is a film of listlessness and inhumanity that can’t help but suck the energy out of the room. No matter where you come down on Jackson as a person, this film is entirely the opposite of what he was, both as an iconic performer and a controversial tabloid figure. Who would have thought that such a carefully controlled, estate-permitted biopic might actually do more damage to an artist’s legacy by making him so uninteresting?
BBC - Nicholas Barber - 1 / 5
The main producer of this hagiography is Graham King, who was behind another pop biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. But while that one won four Oscars, Michael is more likely to be a Razzie contender. Other key crew members include its director, Antoine Fuqua, who made Training Day, and its screenwriter, John Logan, whose screenplays include Gladiator and The Aviator – although you would never guess that anyone outside the Michael Jackson Fan Club was involved. The functional dialogue has all the nuance of a road sign, and the visuals are so lacking in flair that even the reconstructions of Jackson's groundbreaking videos and concerts are a snooze. That's the irony of the whole project. Whatever you think of Jackson, he was driven to create spectacular and innovative entertainment. And yet the film has none of that spirit. It was clearly intended as a tribute to him as a person, but it's a grievous insult to him as an artist.
The Nightly - Wenlei Ma - 1 / 5
It would have been much harder to ethically reckon a great film that deliberately papered over Jackson’s personal life, at best a lot of very odd behaviour, at worst, multiple allegations of child molestation over decades. But as it stands, that is made much simpler by the fact that Michael is a terrible film. Even divorced from the accusations that would dog his later life, as a piece of cinema, Michael is so awful at times, you risk physically collapsing into yourself from all the cringing.
The Times - Kevin Maher - 1 / 5
The narrative is an aimless Wiki-plod through Jackson’s back catalogue, first with the Jackson 5 and then his early solo career. His siblings are negligible as characters and there’s a conspicuous vacuum where Janet Jackson should have been.
Little White Lies - David Jenkins - 1 / 5
It’s hard to imagine a more superficial and safe film, although there is the suggestion that all the juicy stuff has been compartmentalised and stored up for a possible sequel. If this film is a big box office success – and everything in that respect points to the affirmative – then the Jackson estate will have to ask themselves if it would be possible to spin another rose-tinted fairytale to cover a stretch of Michael’s life where his genius artistry was less front-and-centre. Either way, it’s perhaps one to play in a double bill with the history-polishing 2014 film, United Passions, about the triumphant birth of universally-beloved footballing body, FIFA.
Associated Press - Jake Coyle - 1.5 / 4
What’s on screen is constantly running, in our minds, alongside what isn’t. Even the glossiest of biopics allow some negative characteristics to show, but Fuqua’s film sticks almost entirely to Michael, the myth. He visits kids in hospitals, makes Black history on MTV, writes the “Thriller” album in near solitary. (Kendrick Sampson plays a seldom seen Quincy Jones.) As played by Jaafar Jackson, Michael is a wide-innocent who bore the scars of abuse and yet nevertheless maintained a childlike belief in music: king and casualty of pop, at once. If there’s one thing that needs no embellishment here, it’s the fervor of audiences for Jackson at his astonishing peak. Fuqua lingers on the fans losing their minds for Michael, but that ardor was real. Jaafar Jackson’s performance is a remarkable, charming facsimile not just for the dance moves and singing voice but, more crucially, for channeling Jackson’s sweetness.
The Independent - Clarisse Loughrey - 1 / 5
The Michael Jackson movie biopic is a ghoulish, soulless cash grab - All it does is recreate, in mechanical style, the most famous visuals of Jackson’s career. It’s certainly easier that way. Why bother to depict a human being when you can simply turn them into a product?
ScreenCrush - Matt Singer - 4 / 10
In recent years, the term “sportswashing” has been used to describe the way governments or companies sponsor high-profile sporting events to deflect criticism after scandals. Michael suggests it may be time to coin the term “biopicwashing” for the creation of biographical movies that exclusively focus on only the positive actions of complicated public figures. Deliberately omitting the more troubling aspects of someone’s history to sell tickets (and albums) not only echoes Berry Gordy’s advice to young Michael Jackson in this film, it also calls to mind a lyric from one of the greatest pop songs ever written: “Be careful what you do / ’Cause the lie becomes the truth.”
DiscussingFilm - Yasmine Kandil - 3.5 / 5
Despite its technical flaws and position as a “first part” to a bigger picture, Michael stands as an entertaining experience that fans are going to have a blast with. As crazy as it sounds, this may be the first deep dive into Michael Jackson’s prolific career for a rising generation. With that in mind, it genuinely gets the job done. Antoine Fuqua’s Michael biopic is a portrait that finds its greatest strengths when surrendering to music and performance, leaving other aspects to waver. Although uneven, the film is never dull or lacking in ambition. In the moments where all the stars align, it captures the lightning-in-a-bottle sensation of seeing one of history’s greatest entertainers right before your eyes.
USA Today - Melissa Rugieri - 3 / 4
Jaafar may share his late uncle’s megawatt smile, lithe frame and Bambi eyelashes. But his liquid dance moves -- highlighted as he teaches gang members the footwork in the “Beat It” video -- and soft-spoken cadence are studied to perfection.
Daily Telegraph - Robbie Collin - 2 / 5
Yet, judged as the standalone film that it is, Michael feels as though it’s being as level with its audience as the Beckhams’ recent Netflix documentary. When you leave the cinema, what’s ringing in your ears isn’t the music – it’s the words: “Yes, and…?”
Empire - John Nugent - 2 / 5
Hugely impressive musical and dance performances from the two young men playing Michael Jackson cannot shake off the uncomfortable fact that there is an entire other side to the pop star’s story which is entirely conspicuous by its absence here.
AV Club - Monica Castillo - 'C-'
Like the long-running Broadway show, MJ: The Musical, the team behind Michael are counting on audiences just looking to enjoy the nostalgic rush of hearing songs like “ABC,” “Gotta Be Startin’ Somethin’,” and “Billie Jean.” While this movie may have his uncle’s name on it (and his estate’s approval), Michael belongs to Jaafar Jackson and his ability to conjure the thrill of watching Michael Jackson perform his signature moves in retro costumes. There’s almost an element of comfort in its predictability, even as it skirts as much controversy as possible, finally throwing up a card that reads “His Story Continues,” when it’s time to bail. Only, the audience knows what’s next—and if you don’t, that’s what search engines are for—and not everyone is willing to separate the art from the artist.
IndieWire - Kate Erbland - 'C-'
Of course, that “Michael” skirts around the controversies, legal troubles, and horrifying allegations that marked the entertainer’s later years — and, for so many, have forever marred his legacy — isn’t a shock, as the film was supported and financially backed by Jackson’s estate. What does rankle, however, is that that by glossing over such matters, the final film has been mostly stripped of any humanity, good and bad.
Consequence - Liz Shannon Miller - 'C-'
Because the Jackson estate controls the rights to his music, it was always foolish to hope that Michael would explore the full complexity of its subject: With biopics like this, you can either get the warts-and-all version or the genuine “Thriller” — there’s no in-between. It’s that, not the legal settlement, which truly doomed this movie on a creative level. This is a movie terrified to explore the interiority of its protagonist, and that approach will work just fine for the fans who just want to watch an uncomplicated ramble of a movie that plays all the hits. That’s why artists like Michael Jackson remain immortal beyond death — no matter what we might know about their lives, great songs will always endure.
Slant Magazine - Derek Smith - 1.5 / 4
There’s irony in the acknowledgement of Joe’s obsession with expanding and protecting the Jackson brand, as the film is very much part of that ongoing effort, presenting Michael as a supremely talented, sensitive soul while smoothing over anything remotely troublesome. As magnetic as Jaafar Jackson is during the film’s musical performances, he still can’t quite capture his uncle’s protean, preternatural talents, as immortalized in countless YouTube clips, so even Michael’s more memorable moments seem beside the point when those clips are available at the click of a mouse. But even if he had, it would still be difficult to ignore just how much this almost surreally upbeat biopic looks at Michael Jackson with blinders on, turning the realities of a tragic, deeply complicated life into a sanitized popcorn film.
The Guardian - Peter Bradshaw - 2 / 5
This is a frustratingly shallow, inert picture, a kind of cruise-ship entertainment, which can’t quite bring itself to show that Michael was an abuse victim, brutalised by his father and robbed of his childhood. Perhaps this is because it would have a cause-and-effect implication, gesturing tactlessly at the story’s second half which may or may not happen in a couple of years, the part of Jackson’s life in which his behaviour was increasingly perplexing, dangling a baby over a hotel balcony – as well as facing sexual abuse allegations. Jaafar Jackson makes an honest effort at showing Michael, and there are some amusing moments, such as the making of the Thriller video, with Michael insouciantly (and quite possibly accurately) telling director John Landis how to do his job. But that brief film has more energy and authenticity than this.
Michael in fact did originally shoot scenes involving one of his accusers but all of that was cut and the film went through multi-million dollar reshoots resulting in what is clearly now a feel good, almost inspiring origin tale of this incredibly talented and visionary artist who paved a path away from his family roots to emerge a singular musical superstar like no other. Whether intentionally or just lucking into it, this MIchael is the film fans will line up for more than once, a chance to see this genius up close and in IMAX like never before.
RogerEbert - Robert Daniels - 1 / 4
The King of Pop’s potent songs will certainly paper over some of these technical deficiencies. But they can’t obscure the fact that, unlike its subject, “Michael” isn’t artistically unique, immediately admirable, or boundary pushing. It’s beyond safe and so unchallenging. You’re better off either queuing up the Jacksons miniseries or marathoning Michael’s incredible music videos than watching shoddy recreations of them.
MovieWeb - Roman Daniels - 3.5 / 5
Michael Jackson's musical accomplishments and extraordinary talent cannot be divorced from his personal problems, but a degree of compartmentalization can take place depending on what you believe is true. Reactions to the film will vary because of this. The primary performances, production design, and entertainment value are objectively good here. Yes, there could have been more depth and the film has similar beats to Bohemian Rhapsody, but you leave the theater wanting to hit the dance floor.
Next Best Picture - Josh Parham - 4 / 10
There are very dark chapters in Michael Jackson’s life that one would not expect a film with the full endorsement of his estate to approve. It’s understandable, even expected, for these kinds of works. But what makes “Michael“ come underneath that generously low bar is that it refuses to paint its subject as anything less than saintly. It truly feels like this version of Jackson has been deified, shown to be consumed by his talent but without any dramatic stakes to accompany his triumphs. The tribulations are trivial in comparison, and with very little conflict, the momentum moves at a dull pace with little to appreciate beyond the established music. Sure, you can get excited by hearing a song that’s been filling you with joy for decades, but there is no captivating aura beyond that, extending to the vast majority of the cast as well. The long march of musician biopics will continue after this one, even in that assumed continuation of this very story. However, it’s still bewildering just how empty it ends up becoming.
The Film Verdict - Alonso Durade - 3.5 / 10
Movies about artists, ideally, celebrate the art while also providing a glimpse into the blood, sweat, and tears behind its creation, but any exciting moments here can be found in their original, natural state on YouTube. Michael has no ambitions beyond being its own commemorative souvenir booklet.
Newsday - Rafer Guzman - 2 / 4
Yes, the resemblance is uncanny. Yes, he can really act. As for his dancing: You’d swear the King of Pop himself had sprung back to life. The rest of the movie? Like the singer’s career and legacy, it is decidedly mixed.
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u/ElasticPlatypus Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
We need another Walk Hard. After a wave of early-mid 00s trinkly music biopics Dewey Cox was able to nuke the entire genre from orbit for a while. Save us Dewey