{"id":723171,"date":"2026-04-22T05:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T02:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/michael-what-critics-are-saying-about-the-king-of-pops-biopic\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T05:00:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T02:00:28","slug":"michael-what-critics-are-saying-about-the-king-of-pops-biopic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/michael-what-critics-are-saying-about-the-king-of-pops-biopic\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Michael\u2019: What Critics Are Saying About the King of Pop\u2019s Biopic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n\tMichael<\/em> is dancing its way to theaters later this week \u2014 and the critics are already talking.<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing its world premiere, reviews were unveiled, but they app<\/a>ear to be more critical. In the new movie, directed by Antoine Fuqua, the story follows the late Michael Jackson\u2018s rise to fame from when he was a child in the Jackson 5 in the \u201960s to becoming the King of Pop, who was widely recognized as the world\u2019s biggest entertainer, before he died in 2009.<\/p>\n

\n\tMichael\u2019s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, son of Jermaine Jackson, plays the superstar, taking over from Juliano Valdi, who opens the film when Michael was 10. More cast members include Miles Teller as attorney John Branca, Colman Domingo as Michael\u2019s father Joe Jackson, Kat Graham as Diana Ross, Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Laura Harrier as Suzanne de Passe, Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones and Amaya Mendoza as young La Toya Jackson. Michael\u2019s sister, Janet Jackson, is notably missing.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile many members of the Jackson family, who showed up at the Dolby Theatre premiere on Monday night to support the film, Paris Jackson, Michael\u2019s only daughter, was absent. She has been vocal against the movie, previously speaking out about how she wasn\u2019t involved with the movie, after reading a draft and giving notes about \u201cwhat was dishonest\/didn\u2019t sit right with me and when they didn\u2019t address it, I moved on with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s very important that everybody in the family was involved and took part in this to make sure you get it right,\u201d La Toya Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. <\/em>\u201cA lot of times people think they know the story and they read about things, but when the family\u2019s involved, the family can say yay or nay.\u201d But when asked about Paris Jackson\u2019s comments, she noted, \u201ceverybody has their opinion and their choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLa Toya Jackson, however, was seemingly very pleased with the film, especially Jaafar\u2019s performance. \u201cI was flabbergasted. I have to tell you that you think it\u2019s Mike,\u201d\u00a0she said. \u201cYou forget it\u2019s Jaafar, you think it\u2019s Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMichael<\/em> has a 31 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of Tuesday. Below, see what critics are saying about the movie.<\/p>\n

\n\tTHR\u2019s <\/em>chief film critic David Rooney agreed with La Toya Jackson\u2019s take, writing in his review, \u201cJaafar nails the sweet, soft-spoken voice with which Michael projected a childlike innocence and vulnerability, but also the single-minded focus with which he pushed his career forward. We see his natural affinity for children in fan interactions or hospital visits to pediatric cancer wards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe added overall: \u201cThe film leaves itself open to accusations of making Michael a saint, which will not sit well with the cancel crowd. If you are unwilling to separate the art from the artist, this will not be a movie for you. But for lifelong fans who cherish the music, the movie delivers. Simply as a celebration of Jackson\u2019s songs and stagecraft, it\u2019s phenomenal, shot by Dion Beebe with visual electricity in the performance sequences. The music has never sounded louder or better.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tUSA Today\u2019s<\/em> Melissa Ruggieri wrote in her review<\/a> that the film, \u201cmakes clear that Jackson\u2019s arrested development began in childhood, when he reads Peter Pan<\/em> by flashlight under the covers in the family\u2019s home in Gary, Indiana. Later, he populates the family compound in Encino, California, with animals he views as friends, not pets. Too bad the blatant CGI versions of a llama, giraffe, python and yes, Bubbles the chimp are so cringeworthy that you forget to have empathy for Jackson, the lonely man-boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe later added, \u201cJaafar may share his late uncle\u2019s megawatt smile, lithe frame and Bambi eyelashes. But his liquid dance moves \u2013 highlighted as he teaches gang members the footwork in the\u00a0\u2018Beat It\u2019\u00a0video \u2212 and soft-spoken cadence are\u00a0studied to perfection.\u00a0This is not about nepotism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKevin Maher of The Times U.K.<\/em> teased how Domingo portrayed Joe Jackson, writing in his review<\/a>, \u201cThere are a handful of childhood scenes in which Jackson\u2019s father, Joe is depicted as controlling and violent, which establishes one single dramatic beat for the entire film \u2014 will Michael ever escape from underneath Joe\u2019s control?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe added a more critical take on the ending, \u201cThe music scenes nonetheless are quite brilliant and thrilling \u2014 Jaafar is an accomplished impressionist. Jackson was a once-in-a-generation genius and his musical legacy is quite safe \u2014 his sales spiked by 10 per cent during the\u00a0Leaving Neverland<\/em>\u00a0controversy. In the end he probably deserved more, for better and worse, than this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Independent\u2019s<\/a><\/em> Clarisse Loughrey wrote, \u201cWhile a final card states that \u2018his story continues\u2019 in what is for now a planned sequel, what the film does include are multiple sequences of the singer visiting sick children in hospital, alongside heavy references to the Neverland Ranch. But the ultimate question of how\u00a0Michael<\/em>\u00a0chooses to depict Jackson in context of the allegations is surprisingly hard to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is a frustratingly shallow, inert picture, a kind of cruise-ship entertainment, which can\u2019t quite bring itself to show that Michael was an abuse victim, brutalised by his father and robbed of his childhood,\u201d The Guardian\u2019s <\/em>Peter Bradshaw wrote in his review<\/a>. \u201cPerhaps this is because it would have a cause-and-effect implication, gesturing tactlessly at the story\u2019s second half which may or may not happen in a couple of years, the part of Jackson\u2019s life in which his behaviour was increasingly perplexing, dangling a baby over a hotel balcony \u2014 as well as facing sexual abuse allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe New York Time<\/em>s\u2019 Alissa Wilkinson also addressed the serious subject matter that was left out of the film. \u201cThe movie omits the really hard stuff that plagued Jackson; his scalp surgery after experiencing third-degree burns in 1984 now becomes mostly a driver of his success and determination to \u2018shine my light, to spread love and joy, to heal,\u2019 but we never witness the painkiller addiction that grew from it,\u201d she wrote in her review<\/a>, adding, \u201cThe movie itself becomes a tale of triumph and glory for someone everyone admired, rather than an estate\u2019s attempt to scrub clean the life story of a star who has been\u00a0multiply accused, in harrowing terms, of\u00a0child sexual abuse. That same estate is the reason that an\u00a0HBO documentary\u00a0that gives space for two men who have accused Jackson to tell their story\u00a0has been deleted from its streaming platform; you can\u2019t watch it, because it might as well not exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis isn\u2019t really a biopic,\u201d Rolling Stone\u2019s<\/em> David Fear wrote in his review<\/a>. \u201cThis is the Passion of St. Michael, rendered with great fidelity to and emphasis on both Jackson\u2019s undeniable suffering and equally undeniable talent. Jaafar Jackson does bear an uncanny resemblance to his late uncle, and clearly knows how to replicate his signature moves, his physical fluidity, his beaming smile reserved for fans, animals, and hospital residents. But watching Michael\u2019s greatest hits \u2014 the\u00a0Motown 25<\/em>\u00a0showstopper, the \u2018Thriller\u2019 video choreography, the gang-member summit turned dance rehearsal that begets \u2018Beat It\u2019 \u2014 reproduced with such stunning accuracy is, frankly, a little depressing. You\u2019re reminded of the first time you heard Jackson\u2019s music, and how overwhelming the hooks, the production, the chops, the sheer energy that characterized his live performances and videos earned him the title the King of Pop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMichael <\/em>releases in theaters on Friday. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael is dancing its way to theaters later this week \u2014 and the critics are already talking. Following its world premiere, reviews were unveiled, but they appear to be more critical. In the new movie, directed by Antoine Fuqua, the story follows the late Michael Jackson\u2018s rise to fame from when he was a child…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-723171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723171\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}