“I believe music can change the world,” declared Michael Jackson, played by Jafaar Jackson. With these very words, we’re pulled into the perspective of the one who made it to the top. Despite
the circumstances that he came from, Jackson shows his persistence in Antoine Fuqua’s biopic Michael, released on April 24, 2026.

The film follows the story of Jackson and his struggles with pursuing his own musical ambitions, whilst enduring his poor life conditions.

This biopic resonates with those who pursue a musical career- those who have dreams of making it big and releasing their name to the world. Although it has its flaws, and quite a few of them, Michael reintroduces the audience into his world, offering an inspirational, yet predictable, view of his life.

As a biopic, the story is considerably linear. We’re introduced to his struggles within the first few seconds of the movie and his father’s abusive tendencies with a beating scene in the first
thirty minutes. The movie encapsulates many of his life changing moments within the first half of his life, specifically before the Pepsi commercial incident. It remains this
inclusive until the end, although not all the details are kept within the movie by the end result.

The movie was filmed over more than four months, with production for the film beginning in May of 2024. Fuqua is known to direct things from crime and thriller genres, but Jafaar Jackson
doesn’t have any history of acting in movies aside from Michael.

There are a few other people from the family who provided aid, such as Katherine Jackson, Prince Jackson, and the remainder of the Jackson estate. Notably, Janet Jackson chose not to be involved within the film.

The writing fell short on its own, as Jackson didn’t seem to have many challenges that couldn’t easily be overcome aside from the recurring emotional abuse from Joe Jackson.

Fuqua uses the sound track well to communicate the tension of the situations, dulling external noise and music to complete silence to emphasize the seriousness of some situations. In other cases,
music is consistently playing from Michael Jackson’s discography, including a large margin of his most notable songs dating all the way back to when he was a child.

Although the music maintains an upbeat and innovative sound throughout the majority of the movie, it does change alongside the tone of the movie as well. The pacing isn’t necessarily fast throughout the movie, and everything seems to be going at a slow, yet rewarding pace. At times, scenes are extended to seem a lot slower to amplify the feelings or effects they may give. Despite the few faults that the movie may have with its linear and predictable writing, and the lack of addressed complexity as pertaining to Michael’s life, it’s generally good for a musical. However, the movie’s identity as a biopic doesn’t hold up particularly well due to all the footage removed.