By: Ella Coleman
Copy Editor
It’s been known that Michael Jackson is considered by a wide audience one of the best pop artists in history and has broken barriers for many Black artists to come. While the concept of movie biopics of celebrities and famous figures have been around for a long time, for example Elvis starring Austin Butler in 2022 and A Complete Unknown starring Timothée Chalamet in 2024, Michael made a lasting impression on not only myself, but the entire audience because of one simple fact: Michael Jackson’s own nephew, Jaafar Jackson, stars as the lead.
Michael delivers when it comes to the soundtrack, flashy dance moves, and performance energy. Jaafar Jackson, son of Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine, did a beautiful job portraying Michael’s mannerisms, tone, and appearance; it was easy to forget it wasn’t actually the King of Pop standing there on the big screen.
The movie began with the forming of the Jackson 5 in the 60s and followed him through the beginning of his solo career to his rise to fame. We get to see different sides of Michael: his striking personality on and off the stage, his professional struggles, his relationships with his family members, and his love for children and animals, which eventually started the Neverland Ranch. Michael Jackson’s monkey, Bubbles, was introduced, as well as his llama, giraffe, and snake. It also didn’t shy away from his complicated relationship with his father, Joe Jackson (Colman Domingo), and portrayed his toxic behavior at home to his attempt at controlling Michael’s music career. We see Michael eventually defy his father and take control of his own life – firing his father as his manager and getting a nose job. Even though Joe Jackson went behind Michael’s back and scheduled a tour, which resulted in the Pepsi commercial where Michael got badly burnt on his head, we see him persevere through and still care about others’ lives, the children in the hospital. These aspects of the movie gave his character nuance, and showed us the complexity of Michael’s personal life.
Many critics are disappointed that Michael didn’t tackle the controversies, rumors, and allegations that Michael Jackson dealt with, and criticized it for being “surface-level.” However, the “surface-level” claim is easily refutable: showing Michael’s childhood, his relationship with his father, and the fire during the Pepsi commercial all gave the movie complexity. Additionally, the allegations against him officially began in 1993, and the movie ended during 1988 at the end of Michael’s Bad tour.
Some of Michael Jackson’s family members had displeasure with the movie, so much so that Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson’s sister, was not even a character in the movie. Family members have said that the movie is “untrue,” but it is hard for outsiders who have never known Michael Jackson to have an opinion on this.
On the other hand, many of his family members did support the movie, such as MJ’s brothers Marlon, Jackie, and Jermaine, and his sister La Toya. Besides Jaafar starring as his uncle in the lead role, Michael’s son Prince Jackson was an executive producer of the movie.
Despite critics’ thoughts on the film, the general audience had a completely different opinion and absolutely enjoyed it, praising the nostalgic feeling and Jaafar’s performance as Michael Jackson. It has quickly become one of the most talked about films of 2026, setting the record for the highest audience score on Rotten Tomatoes at 97%.
The writer of the film, John Logan, said in The Hollywood Reporter: “We chose to tell the uplifting story of his triumph in the movie, and that’s what we did.” Michael did exactly that: it was an uplifting, soulful, nostalgic telling of Michael Jackson’s life, his journey into fame, and the process behind his career choices. Rather than focusing on his controversies and the darker aspects of his life, instead it celebrated him as a person and the impact he made on the world. It did a wonderful job of showing Michael’s influence on both his audience and the future of Black artists in the music industry. Michael Jackson was the first Black artist whose music video (“Billie Jean”) was in heavy rotation on MTV.
There is heavy speculation that a second movie is in the works, as right before the credits rolled, the movie stated that “his story continues…” If the makers of the film agree to greenlight a sequel to the biopic, this may be a great opportunity to continue Michael’s journey through fame and even potentially delve more into the dark side.
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