Plot and Scope
Michael is an estate-approved biopic that chronicles the King of Pop's journey from his youth in Gary, Indiana through the Jackson Five era and into his solo career, concluding in 1984 after the Victory Tour. The film deliberately ends before addressing Jackson's later life and controversial allegations, with a subtitle indicating the story continues elsewhere.
Critical Reception
Critics argue the film is frustratingly shallow and evasive. The Ms. Now review compares it to what an AI might produce, criticizing it for shrinking from serious engagement with difficult truths. The Guardian review calls it bland, bowdlerized, and packed with music-movie clichés. Both reviewers note the film fails to explore Jackson's interiority, the childhood abuse he suffered from his father, or any cause-and-effect implications that might gesture toward later controversies.
Performance and Casting
Jaafar Jackson, Michael's nephew, plays the adult Michael with terrific dancing and singing recreations but delivers the speaking role with endless smiley blandness and a childlike voice. Colman Domingo stands out as the fierce, watchable Joe Jackson, the only actor allowed to fully express emotion. Supporting cast members including Nia Long as Katherine Jackson are rendered in virtually mute roles with little to work with.
What Critics Say Is Missing
Reviewers criticize the film for avoiding the elephant in the room: Jackson's later life and allegations. Critics note the film cannot bring itself to show Jackson as an abuse victim or explore how his father's brutality robbed him of childhood. One reviewer suggests this omission is intentional, allowing the producers to sidestep controversy entirely. The film relies instead on music-movie clichés like studio revelations, tour buses, and chart ascents.
Broader Commentary
The Ms. Now review connects the film's avoidance of difficult truth to broader cultural trends, referencing how choosing to turn away from ugly realities diminishes what we can learn and become. The Guardian suggests the filmmakers may have opted to avoid deeper engagement with Michael's psychology to prevent any implication that his father's abuse connected to his later behavior. 
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