David R. Walker

Michael

Director:  Antoine Fuqua

Cast: Jafaar Jackson, Nia Long, Colman Domingo, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Michael Andrew Baker, Zach Kenney, Miles Teller, Mike Myers, Kendrick Sampson

Running Time: 2 hours and 7 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Training Day and Southpaw director Antoine Fuqua turns his attention as a director away from the hugely popular Equalizer action franchise to direct a musical biopic of Michael Jackson simply titled Michael.

The main actor who plays Michael Jackson in this film is the famous singer’s nephew Jaafar Jackson son of Jermaine Jackson who does an excellent job of playing the King of Pop as he slowly emerges out of the restrictive confines of the Jackson Five to become one of the biggest pop stars in the world in the 1980’s.

Michael focuses on the early years of Michael Jackson from his time as the youngest of the Jackson Five who is repeatedly a target of his abusive and power hungry father Joseph Jackson, a stand out Oscar worthy performance by double Oscar nominee (Rustin, Sing Song) Colman Domingo.

Domingo is excellent as Joseph Jackson the patriarch of the Jackson family who is determined to emancipate his family from poverty and elevate them into wealth and stardom. Michael is different and has a close relationship with his mother Katherine Jackson well played by Nia Long.

What makes Colman Domingo’s chilling performance as the pushy father so brilliant is that it is so against type compared to some of the more flamboyant roles that Domingo has played.

Oscar nominated for screenwriting for The Aviator, Hugo and Gladiator, John Logan’s brilliant script holds Michael together complete with superb direction by Antoine Fuqua. Fortunately what John Logan does in his screenplay is to focus on the music and not the peculiar lifestyle that Michael Jackson led.

Jaafar Jackson is brilliant playing a version of his famous uncle in a film biopic that focuses on the catchy music including the absolute hits like Thriller, Billy Jean and Bad.

Audiences should watch out for a fantastic cameo by Mike Myers as CBS record producer Walter Yetnikoff who is persuaded by Jackson’s manager to put the music video Thriller onto MTV in the early 1980’s, the decade of the music video and one of the reasons why Michael Jackson become so famous so quickly.

Despite his setback when his hair caught on fire shooting a commercial for Pepsi at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles in 1984, Michael Jackson succeeded in becoming a mega popstar in the decade of excess. Jackson’s later fame soon eclipsed his famous family and eventually he had the courage to stand up to his controlling father and finally let his own light shine through.

Jaafar Jackson and Colman Domingo are both excellent as the breakout kid that wants to escape to Neverland and the overbearing ruthless father that wants to stifle his son’s creativity.

Featuring excellent music numbers, polished production design by Barbara Ling and glossy cinematography by Dion Beebe, Michael is worth seeing as a musical biopic and gets a film rating of 8 out of 10.

See Michael on the biggest screen possible as the music numbers are brilliant held together by a competent script by John Logan. Highly recommended viewing.

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