Throughout my childhood, I’ve been an avid fan of Michael Jackson and his songs, especially his Jackson 5 songs and his hit album Thriller. When I heard that a biopic about his life that featured some of my favorite songs was coming out in theaters, I, like most other Michael fans, was hooked. 

One question immediately intrigued critics, viewers and directors — who would play Michael Jackson? The audition process supposedly dragged on for two years, until the director, Antoine Fuqua, picked Michael’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, to play the role. 

While many were fearful to see how Michael would be portrayed, I thought Jaafar did a fabulous job, especially due to his excellent singing and dancing, which took him months to perfect according to online sources. There were performances in the movie that reminded me of Michael’s performances years before as Jaafar aimed to match his uncle’s moves frame-by-frame.

There were three performances that particularly caught my attention in the movie. The first and obvious choice was the “Thriller” scene. For a spoiler-free summary, I thought this scene really showed how much Michael Jackson paid attention to perfection, specifically on his dancing and singing.Jaafar himself truly perfected this scene, with synonymous and synchronized dance moves and facial expressions. 

Another notable performance was when Jafaar performed Billie Jean, where he perfectly recreated Michael’s dance moves, including his first performed moonwalk.  The camerawork was awesome, zooming in on Jaafar performing his unique dance moves.

The last performance, and the best one, was the “Bad” performance in Wembley Stadium. Jaafar comes onto the stage, and the audience hears a prelude of the song “Bad” as the first few notes play. Jaafar then takes the stage, giving his all in the performance, amazing both the audience in the movie and in the theater.  

In terms of the film’s characters, I think there are very few meaningful characters apart from Michael. I would say the most important character apart from Michael is his father, Joe Jackson, played by Colman Domingo. I never really knew much about Joe Jackson, apart from how he was credited with assembling the Jackson 5. I quickly learned in the first 10 or 15 minutes of Michael that Joe frequently abused his family, especially Michael. Throughout the movie, he is portrayed as a controlling figure towards Michael and his label, but at the same time, acts as a pivotal figure in allowing Michael to grow. 

 Another significant character is Bill Bray, Michael’s personal bodyguard, played by KeiLyn Durrel Jones. While his character never talked much at once, he was often the only person Michael could talk to or feel comfortable around. In the closing scene, it is apparent how the two have grown closer throughout the movie, mainly because of each other.

For his first film, I thought Jafaar’s acting skills were superb, and he mimicked Michael in both voice and actions. There is an online debate on whether Jafaar should be in the running for an Oscar, and I think for his perfect representation of Michael, he, at the very least, deserves to be nominated for Best Actor. 

Unfortunately, the critic score will likely prevent Jaafar’s nomination. A critic score is a percentage reflecting the consensus rating of professionals that have watched it. The film featured a Rotten Tomatoes score of nearly 40%, which is based off of the combined professional critic score. Most critics dubbed the film as “superficial” and “not the full story” since many aspects of Michael Jackson’s controversial personal life were cut out of the movie. His estate specifically banned the portrayal of Michael’s alleged abuse of minors. 

Still, I think this film should be nominated for many Oscars, most notably Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The facial prosthetics in the movie were simply amazing and closely resemble the real life Jacksons. Domingo’s prosthetic in the movie in particular made him look like a replica of the real person. 

It is also worth mentioning that there will certainly be a second Michael movie, as seen towards the end of the movie by the pop-up screen.

While I did give a lot of praise for the performances and song choice, I didn’t think the overall plot or acting from other characters in the movie was at the same level. For that, I would give it an above average rating.  

Rating: 8.3/10