There have been many biopics about musicians over the years. Some have worked, others haven’t. The likes of Rocketman, the story of Elton John, worked because, although it was part fantasy, it wasn’t afraid to go to the darker places in John’s life. The same can be said of Better Man, the Robbie Williams story, even though he was portrayed as a monkey. One of the movies that didn’t work was Bohemian Rhapsody, the life of Freddie Mercury. This film only scratched the surface of a man who led an outrageous life, but was sanitised mainly because the executive producing roles were held by fellow Queen bandmates, Brian May and Roger Taylor. They were obviously protecting the image of Mercury, but when the details of his wild nights are out in the public domain, it’s hard to ignore.

Which brings us to Michael, the biopic of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. This was never going to be an easy subject to turn into a satisfying story, given the enormous issues that engulfed his life. One thing you don’t do is ignore them, and that is exactly what this film does. We know about how his life was one of abuse, of crazed obsessions, of bizarre behaviour and of the allegations, but to hide away from these things doesn’t make for a truthful story, and to make him out to be this holier-than-thou character, who was going to heal the world with his music, is almost insulting to its audience.

The story begins with the Jackson 5, the punishing regime his father, Joseph Jackson, put them through, and their signing with Motown and their rise to superstardom. It then hits the 70s, and Michael wants to go solo, producing the Off The Wall album, while he struggles with his father, who refuses to let him go and keeps a stranglehold on his career. The film then goes into various events, including the making of the Thriller video, becoming the biggest-selling artist, and his appearance in London in 1988.

There are moments when Michael starts creating a menagerie of animals, including a llama, a giraffe and Bubbles the Chimp. We see the events unfold that led to Michael being burnt making a Pepsi ad, and, possibly one of the more interesting things to come out of the film, is the lack of black artists appearing on MTV until Jackson’s insistence.

All well and good, but throughout every scene, it’s like you are seeing a large elephant in the room. There was no mention of legal charges because of a clause in the settlement that the Jackson family had to honour, and a hefty $15 million was spent on reshoots. Having said that, the tales of the abuse Jackson faced from his father seem very tame and don’t really explore the possible reasons for Jackson’s behaviour in later life, and to portray him as almost a Jesus-like figure is sometimes quite laughable. One scene involves Jackson watching the news about gang warfare in LA, and wanting to bring the gangs together by making them watch him rehearse for the Beat It video.

Not everyone would want to watch a two-hour movie about a troubled singer, but that is what a biopic should be, rather than just a series of performances, which this film is, in effect. If you want to watch Jackson perform, just go to a video streaming site and put them on repeat. Apart from the MTV issue, I learned nothing about the man, what really made him tick and why he did what he did. You then understand that most of the Jackson family were executive producers of the film, and so weren’t willing to share those dark moments. Even stranger was the absence of Janet Jackson, who asked not to appear in the movie, leaving an odd, empty void.

The lead, Jaafar Jackson, son of Jermaine, does an incredible job of recreating Michael Jackson, especially in his performances. The dance routines are identical to those of his late uncle. Then why did they insist on getting him to mime? An odd decision indeed. The other strong performance is by Colman Domingo as Joseph, the backbone of the family’s success. He plays it with an intensity that works, but could have gone further. As for the rest of the Jackson family, it’s like watching supporting artists who were told not to speak.

This film was made by very talented people, Antoine Fuqua, the director of Training Day and The Equalizer movies, and written by John Logan, who was nominated for an Oscar for Gladiator. Yet this looks and feels like a movie you’d find on Channel 5 in the afternoon. It lacks anything unique or interesting and, in places, is dull, yet it also feels like everyone involved had to walk on eggshells. It says at the end of the film, “His Story Continues”. Does that mean there is a sequel? Or have they chickened out completely and just aim to stop there?

1 out of 5

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Starring: Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Juliano Valdi, Larenz Tate, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Kendrick Sampson, Mike Myers, Deon Cole

Written by: John Logan

Running Time: 127 mins

Cert: 12A

Release date: 24th April 2026