Michael Movie Review

Released: 22nd April 2026 (UK)

Length: 127 Minutes

Certificate: 12A

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Starring: Jaafar Jackson, Juliano Krue Valdi, Nia Long, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Miles Teller and Colman Domingo

As arguably the greatest entertainer of all time and a landmark of 20^th Century culture, Michael Jackson continues to inspire millions around the world. He had a share of big-screen outings too, beginning with The Wiz in 1978 and ending posthumously in 2009 with This Is It. Now we’re receiving a full-blown tribute simply titled Michael; it’s a biopic with many problems that overcome its entertainment factor.

Over a span of two decades, the film takes us through Jackson’s upbringing and his gradual transition into super-stardom as a solo artist, flashing between family drama and on-stage extravagance. It aims to flow between both as smoothly as possible and on that front the film has some momentum. Modern music biopics can be split into two types; extended releases that tap into every aspect of a singer’s life and others that feel more like a throwaway compilation. Falling into the latter, the biggest flaw of Michael is how it refuses to delve into every aspect of who he was. It’s more like a sanitised celebration than a full exploration of the individual. Many contentious and controversial moments have been left out of the narrative and those that are present are sped through quickly without much reflection, most notably domestic abuse in the early going. Michael can also be considered the first film of its kind to sequel bait; it covers his journey from 1968 with the Jackson 5 through to the Bad tour in 1988, then cuts off with the promise that the story will continue. It’s a cynical move that taps a sequel without following through.

Michael has some solid casting all around, but the depth they bring to the story is very lacking. The titular musician is played by Juliano Krue Valdi as a boy and Michael’s nephew Jaafar Jackson as a young adult. For their debut performances, both do a splendid job of replicating the man himself. Jaafar in particular really captures the mannerisms, a beaming smile hiding the singer’s insecurities. Their energy, physical movement and liveliness are on top form throughout, but they can’t make up for other problems. Generally the main thread centres on Michael’s difficult childhood and struggle to face up to his father Joseph (Coleman Domingo), who constantly pushes for maximum profit from his family of performers. The exploration of this relationship isn’t very deep and it also comes at the cost of other cast members. Janet Jackson is nowhere to be seen and Michael’s brothers Jermaine (Jamal R. Henderson), Marlon (Tre Horton), Tito (Rhyan Hill) and Jackie (Joseph David-Jones) are extremely underused; charming performances during the musical numbers, but they could have added much more to the drama. Miles Teller is perfectly fine as attorney John Branca and Nia Long has a good turn as Michael’s mother Katherine, but again the greater development is missing. There’s so little insight into the person at the film’s centre and those close to him; as a result, the strong performances are diminished.

Michael presents some of the biggest and most extravagant live performances on the silver screen and on a base level, the audience will be fully enraptured. The recreation of his major hits is done to a high standard with a wide range of camera angles and plenty of huge crowds going wild as Juliano and Jaafar pull off the iconic moves and hit all the notes. For the first half, The Jackson 5 take to the stage with I Want You Back, ABC and other toe-tapping classics. In the latter, the 1983 Billie Jean debut, the creation of Beat It and the shooting of Thriller by filmmaker John Landis are all present and accounted for. At other points, ambient versions of Michael’s music will punctuate a scene to great effect. When you look past all the flashing lights and glamour, problems do emerge. The use of CGI for Michael's pet monkey Bubbles is a little rough around the edges and on the whole, the set pieces don’t push beyond exterior viewing. You can just as easily look up these moments online in various montages and videos.

Michael will be an enjoyable crowd-pleaser for anyone who has listened to the singer’s music with some knockout performances from both Jermaine Jackson and Juliano Krue Valdi. Sadly, that’s all the film has to offer, falling into the same traps as Elvis and other lacklustre biopics. Glossy to a fault and skipping over or minimising the finer details, this production is a hollow let-down.

Rating: 2/5 Stars (Disappointing)