Michael (2026) Review
Michael (2026), directed by Antoine Fuqua, is a thrilling mess.
Hello all, Happy Movie Monday! I am attempting a new project, a movie review series that I will post every Monday, and I’ve decided to start with a doozy. Originally, I had a draft of a review for Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama (2026), but abandoned it as soon as I watched the recently released Michael in theaters this weekend. Perhaps I will post that review sometime, but for now, Michael is the only thing I can think about— and for all the wrong reasons.
In the movie, Michael Jackson is nearly perfect. An unflawed creative genius– and due to an entrancing performance by Jaafar Jackson– I wanted to believe it! But enchanting, high energy performances of our favorite songs aren’t enough.
There is a very clean cut between “good” and “evil” in this film, and it feels natural to fall in line with this distinction– that’s what the movie wants. We are given two sides: the misunderstood, soft-spoken Michael Jackson, who reminds us time and time again about how much he wants to be “free”, vs. his abusive, controlling father. This dynamic is written to be painfully simple, and so we are never led to view the superstar in any way other than perfect– lest we put ourselves on the same side as Joseph Jackson, the money-hungry, aggressive patriarch. This is not to say simplicity is an inherently bad thing— Michael Jackson is our protagonist, after all. The movie seeks to fit neatly into the growing list of fan-pleasing, formulaic bio-pics of the last decade… but it’s like trying to fit a square peg into a circle hole.
Beneath the surface are the remnants of a movie that never was, one that would have taken a deeper dive into the darker parts of Jackson’s life.
The movie was originally written to cover some of Jackson’s “Neverland Ranch” controversies– the allegations of CSA (child sexual abuse) and grooming that litter his legacy. After legal issues regarding the depiction of the 1993 CSA allegations, the original movie was scrapped, most of which had already been filmed, and reshoots took place as recently as June, 2025.
The existing Michael is completely different, but the ghost of this original film haunts the entire experience. There are scenes that feel confused, moments that read as incredibly uncomfortable if the viewer knows anything at all about Michael Jackson’s controversies, or about the production issues behind the film.
There are things that the direction focuses on that remind us of what the movie could have been: Michael’s obsession with childhood, his infatuation with Peter Pan, the lost boys, and the concept of “Neverland”. While these are integral parts of understanding the pop-star’s psychology— the lasting effects of success as a child star— some moments go beyond that.
To me, the most striking and uncomfortable moments were the conflicted looks on Michael’s long-time security guard’s face as he watched his interactions with children. Nothing is ever said— just the turn of a lip, a slight grimace as Michael talks with children as if he is a child himself. I can’t help but feel like these scenes were meant to be uncomfortable, perhaps originally supposed to show a slow build towards future allegations… but within the existing movie, it builds to nothing.
I know that Michael is a 2 part-er (ugh), and I am sure that this part of his life will be explored to some extent in the future installation, but “To Be Continued” can only do so much work. As of now, as a stand-alone movie, the depiction reads as incredibly disingenuous.
One last point on the 2 part nature of the film— even if this is not the “end” of a story, it’s still the end of a movie that exists by itself. Instead of any sort of resolution or finish to our “Act 1”, the ending made me think that my local AMC workers had accidentally paused the movie in the middle of the climax. It’s unsatisfying, even as the movie does nothing but try to satisfy.
Despite my genuine belief that this is a capital B Bad movie, it was, at many points, an incredibly fun time. If you get a theater crowd like I did, you will hear people cheering, singing along, and shouting at the projection like they are at a concert. Jaafar Jackson absolutely nails his uncle’s charm. He summons Michael Jackson’s energy so naturally, especially in the performance sequences. Despite his role’s flat writing, Jaafar’s performance was so alluring that it makes it hard not to understand how Michael built the astounding legacy that he still has today.
Final Review: 2/5