Party's review of "Michael" biopic

[monstertoronto 11,215]

Just watched it today. It was entertaining and the nephew actor really did look so much like Michael. 
 

Spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie:

I didn’t realize her father was such an abusive asshole. I hated him so much. I didn’t want Michael to do the Victory tour after he just had so much massive success with Thriller and had already fired his father and had a new team. How did nobody on his team stand up for him to be able to do his own solo thriller tour? I couldn’t believe that he actually let himself get bullied into doing the victory tour instead. At least they showed him doing a solo tour at the end. 

I thought it was great how they showed some extended concert scenes so we could enjoy the music and the dancing at the end. But it was a bit repetitive that the final concert scene kept focussing on showing so many people fainting and getting carried out. 

I think it would have been perfect to have the credits roll to Man in the Mirror to end with his solo success instead of more Jackson 5 songs, when so much of the narrative was about his struggle to make a change in his life and him trying to move on from them. And the first lyrics to Man in the Mirror would have been so perfect “I’m going to make a change for once in my life.” 

but overall it was entertaining to watch. 
 

 

 

 

 

[PartySick 170,390]

8 hours ago, andy232000 said:

I knew nothing about MJ so this watch was actually very interesting. However, reading your review makes it’s obviously sad that they glossed over some really important context clues like the entire abuse of his father. As someone who knows nothing about his career or his music (I was born in 2000, my actual first memory of MJ was his death), this was a very innocent way to spend 2 hours of my life and a fun way of learning about probably the most important artist of our lifetime. That said, I think the general public will like it cause I seriously did knew NOTHING and thought it was enjoyable. 
 

Out of curiosity, what’s your thoughts on the minor abuse allegations? Idk why I feel so much empathy for Michael here…I bet SOME lines were probably crossed that shouldn’t have, but child abuse? Maybe the media did a good job at washing my brain but I couldn’t confidently believe the full allegations.

Yeah, there's a specific audience that'll be happy with this film and it's casual fans or the GP that have surface level knowledge of him and aren't looking to learn everything there is to know about him.

As for the allegations, I'm 100% positive they're nonsense  I can go into detail as to why I feel that way if you'd like (which isn't an invitation for others to debate with me on that topic as I don't do that anymore) but I feel confident saying without a doubt that Michael never hurt a child.

[PartySick 170,390]

Just now, monstertoronto said:

Just watched it today. It was entertaining and the nephew actor really did look so much like Michael. 
 

Spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie:

I didn’t realize her father was such an abusive asshole. I hated him so much. I didn’t want Michael to do the Victory tour after he just had so much massive success with Thriller and had already fired his father and had a new team. How did nobody on his team stand up for him to be able to do his own solo thriller tour? I couldn’t believe that he actually let himself get bullied into doing the victory tour instead. At least they showed him doing a solo tour at the end. 

I thought it was great how they showed some extended concert scenes so we could enjoy the music and the dancing at the end. But it was a bit repetitive that the final concert scene kept focussing on showing so many people fainting and getting carried out. 

I think it would have been perfect to have the credits roll to Man in the Mirror to end with his solo success instead of more Jackson 5 songs, when so much of the narrative was about his struggle to make a change in his life and him trying to move on from them. And the first lyrics to Man in the Mirror would have been so perfect “I’m going to make a change for once in my life.” 

but overall it was entertaining to watch. 

And just think, they barely scratched the surface for how bad Joseph was.

Michael would literally be in near tears talking about his father even in the 2000s, he was so deeply scarred and traumatized  

I kinda get what they were going for with the end jumping to the Bad Tour. They wanted to show him finally stepping into his own on a solo tour like he wanted for three album cycles by that point and they had to show how his insane level of stardom had a few hundred people fainting at every show.

I definitely would have made different choices though

[thisboyisamonster 1,192]

I actually watched the BBC documentary on him last night and had no idea he faced charges for child molestation twice before he died... I was too young to have realised what was going on. I know he wasn't convicted but clearly something wasn't right. I appreciated some songs but was never a fan. However I'm quite shocked how much of a following and fame he had despite the odd behaviour and the allegations. He would get cancelled in two seconds in today's environment. 

I also don't personally think I need to go see a movie that celebrates him... 

[KindnessPunk 2,310]

Just got out of the film and wowwww what an experience!

[not sure how to add a spoiler tag here, but spoilers ahead!]

I got to see it in IMAX and the moments where they show him performing I felt like I was there, I felt the music in my seat! Human Nature was by far my favorrrrite part I nearly teared up! Overall, I did feel they sped through some things (even the Thriller era) but I guess that’s to be expected in the timeframe they have. I do wish his brother’s were in it a bit more, as well as Diana Ross. Definitely the darkest part for me was the Pepsi Commercial accident. It was really hard to watch and I felt like a pit in my stomach during that whole sequence. On a more positive note, I loved the moments of kindness they showed of Michael, with him meeting fans, the moments in the hospital, it was really touching. I also loved the scenes with his Mom too. (Side note but it looked like they shot this on film, I noticed that nice grainy texture at times which I absolutely loved, sorry if thats random lol) Overall, I loved it! Would definitely see it again in theaters!

[Celloo Deng 56,035]

I loved it! Honestly don’t understand the negative critic reviews, they are far too harsh. The story was accurate enough (though some highlights missing like Janet, Diana Ross and The Wiz) and Jaafar and Colman Domingo were absolutely spot on. The dancing?! Incredible. And the boy who played little Mike was amazing. Fave parts were probably the Victory Tour performances 

[PartySick 170,390]

1 hour ago, Celloo Deng said:

I loved it! Honestly don’t understand the negative critic reviews, they are far too harsh. The story was accurate enough (though some highlights missing like Janet, Diana Ross and The Wiz) and Jaafar and Colman Domingo were absolutely spot on. The dancing?! Incredible. And the boy who played little Mike was amazing. Fave parts were probably the Victory Tour performances 

It's definitely inoffensive, I just want a more in depth story told

[Celloo Deng 56,035]

22 minutes ago, PartySick said:

It's definitely inoffensive, I just want a more in depth story told

true, there's far too much to fit into a film 

[Celloo Deng 56,035]

and they didn't have to open the universal titles with HEEHEE straight out the gate making me jump out of my skin but i loved it 

[ImpossiblePrincess 3,911]

On 4/25/2026 at 9:13 AM, thisboyisamonster said:

I actually watched the BBC documentary on him last night and had no idea he faced charges for child molestation twice before he died... I was too young to have realised what was going on. I know he wasn't convicted but clearly something wasn't right. I appreciated some songs but was never a fan. However I'm quite shocked how much of a following and fame he had despite the odd behaviour and the allegations. He would get cancelled in two seconds in today's environment. 

I also don't personally think I need to go see a movie that celebrates him... 

that bbc documentary was leaning heavily toward the negative and is your usual anti MJ documentary except from this one was a series and they spent one episode showing his success to then completely flip and paint him out to be something other.

don’t get me wrong, do I think Michael’s choices were always good, no.

do I think he hurt a child this way, no.

if you look in to the back story of each of these accusers you will notice several inconsistencies and major flaws in the story.

[ImpossiblePrincess 3,911]

Actually quite shocked at how much I enjoyed this film, the pacing did seem very quick as I assumed the film was 2 hours and 30 but it ended up being just under 2 hours, I agree, I hope they don’t skip the creation of Bad for the 2nd part. 
LaToya being the only sister was really strange, but also I completely understand why Janet didn’t want anything to do with this and I have no clue if Rebbie has mentioned about the movie at all so who knows.

 

my one main critique was that Quincy was not featured enough and that John Branca showed his narcissism in this movie because why was he featured so much, as far as I’m aware he’s never been MJ’s manager, I know he was an executive for MJ if I’m correct and he’s the current head of the estate (sadly) but they really made Branca out to be more of a deal then I think he was lowkey.

[thisboyisamonster 1,192]

5 hours ago, ImpossiblePrincess said:

that bbc documentary was leaning heavily toward the negative and is your usual anti MJ documentary except from this one was a series and they spent one episode showing his success to then completely flip and paint him out to be something other.

don’t get me wrong, do I think Michael’s choices were always good, no.

do I think he hurt a child this way, no.

if you look in to the back story of each of these accusers you will notice several inconsistencies and major flaws in the story.

Fair observation but I just think there's way too much smoke for me to ignore or give benefit of the doubt to MJ. I understand he was not convicted but I just wouldn't want to celebrate a person with this type of history. Diddy also wasn't convicted but I doubt we will want to celebrate him in a movie.