Here’s my Michael review which stars Jafaar Jackson as Michael Jackson and Colman Domingo. Special thanks to Universal Pictures PH and SM Cinema!
Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) returns to the big screen with a biopic that focuses on the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. But just like Jackson’s life, the movie has its shares of supporters and bashers and its time to jump into the fray and weigh in on the subject!
“Michael” stars MJ’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, throughout most of the film, leading moviegoers through a somewhat sanitized retelling of the Gloved One’s life from his start with the Jackson 5 in Indiana to the end of the BAD era.
There were only three stars who really made it solid for me in this film, namely Jackson, Colman Domingo, and Miles Teller, who played John Branca.
Jackson, in some way was born to play his uncle and you can see the excitement and the energy with his scenes, particularly those recreations of iconic moments in MJ’s life including that time he went nuclear at the Motown celebration where he first did the “Moonwalk”. Jafaar, for me, also worked with a lot of constraints and restraints in his portrayal but still managed to come up with something that will not only appease but also truly excited MJ fans watching “Michael”. Even those deeply sanitized dramatic moments worked well thanks to Jafaar’s promising acting.
We also have powerhouse actor Colman Domingo who I did not recognize in this movie, playing the role of Michael’s father, Joseph Jackson. In the film, he’s portrayed as this strict man who was shown as very controlling and domineering, and violent towards Jackson. The film reinforces the long-running idea that Joe denied Michael a childhood, having them work nights performing at bars as the Jackson 5. That may be true or may not be, but the fact remains, Domingo read the assignment and did his best and that was certainly the case. It’s also nice that they actually made him look intimidating and very opposing, enough to scare a young man like Michael.
Then there’s Miles Teller’s Branka. The dude continues to surprise us and while he did get only a handful of scenes, he made it so that they were meaningful both in moving the story forward and helping our protagonist grow up. That scene leading up to him firing Joe Jackson by fax was pretty good too, being able to match the energy and aura of Michael Jackson and tell him straight what he needs to hear.
Now for the juicy part.
If you watch Michael for the sole purpose of being entertained, seeing some of the classic MJ tracks get redone in an IMAX screen with some additional drama and heavy context, then its definitely a winner. But if you plan on watching “Michael” equipped with all the known and obscure facts about the king of pop then its bound to be a disaster. Do me a favor though and if you’re the latter, I suggest you watch the old “Dynasty” biopic from the 80s because that has a lot more meat for that sort of thing. But if you want to catch a movie that celebrates the good stuff about Jackson then the 2026 biopic is your film.
As with all biopics, the producers and creative team took some liberties with the film but the real magic, the singing, the dancing, the raw talent, is still capture and projected in the film. The drama has been significantly toned down and its written to be simplified with less of the brothers and family drama and more on Michael’s turmoil. And you can see that in the first and second act.
The third act of Michael however feels like something stretched out and something that was plastered on for the real thing. The ending focuses on Michael publicly breaking away from the The Jacksons after their disastrous “Victory” tour with the stunned Joe Jackson unable to do anything. It implies Michael’s long-sought freedom from his family and opens the door to something new and exciting. I liked that pacing and the way they crafted the scene. But on the other hand, it feels like we lost what could haev been a really solid film that also touched on the dirty side of things including the child abuse allegations and the dependence on all sorts of medication which ultimately cost him his life.
So on that part, I’d say Michael failed.
But the music, the beautiful choreography, the imagery that is Michael Jackson is all captured quite well.
Verdict
Go watch Michael if you’re a fan or used to be a fan and you’ll rediscover why he’s such a big icon. If you’re more on the side of seeing the bad stuff go down, you’ll find this film sorely lacking. But if you’re not really into that debate and just want to see a decent biopic (not good but decent) then the Michael Jackson biopic is for you.
Special thanks to SM Cinema for the invites to see this.
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