This past Sunday, I decided to treat myself to the iconic King of Pop, Michael Jackson’s, most recent biopic portrayed by his nephew, Jafaar Jackson. Since they ‘kept it in the family’, I had high expectations of the film bringing a little more light to who Michael really was outside of the stage.
Although I’ve seen some social media critics state that Jafaar doesn’t look exactly like Michael, I believe he was a perfect choice and that he resembles his uncle just enough to tell that they are related. He did a phenominal job recreating Michael’s iconic performances on camera and on stage. His dance moves and voice were practically identical to Michael’s. I appreciate how he was able to recreate Michael’s identity while still maintaining his own. It shows how talented he is because I did not know he creates his own music and has his own sound outside of the movie and does not try to imitate Micheal at all in his own art.
When I saw Jafaar and the striking resemblance to Michael and found out he was Michael’s relative, I felt like the family was involved in the production and that the audience would be able to see parts of Michael’s life that we have yet to see, since there are a couple of movies about Michael and The Jackson 5. I was a little skeptical when I found out that some family members either did not want to be depicted in the film or they were not thrilled with the outcome of the film. With that being said, I believe that it was a great film but it did feel like there were life events that should have been included to make the film better.
We all know about the abuse Michael went through throughout his childhood and into adulthood due to previous movies and interviews about Michael, but there was still something missing. Granted, the producers did not include too much of the physical abuse and focused more on the verbal abuse that Michael still went through after he was an adult and became a solo artist. They, also, included an issue he had to face due to his race, which I was not even aware of, so, I did appreciate that but once that was highlighted, it made me ask more questions. I wondered what other challenges did Michael have to face due to his race. Surely, there have to had been more instances and I felt like that should have been featured, as well.
The movie did highlight that Michael was pretty much a loner who didn’t seem to relate to his male siblings, when they reached adulthood. His siblings seemed to had been focused on girls and creating families, while Michael seemed to be still in a playful child-like mindset. It was kind of sad to see him only seeming to mostly engage with animals. I have a difficult time believing that is how Michael truly was because after the film, I saw pictures of him at events/parties with celebrities being outgoing and photos of him with a well know female artist who was rumored to have had an intimate relationship with him. He was a young wealthy man and one of the most popular artist in his early adulthood days and you’re telling me he didn’t have many romantic relationships and there was no rockstar life? I just don’t believe that and feel like some of that should have been included but maybe those are stories that they just want to keep known to a select few. Even though Michael was depicted as a child-like individual who did not relate to his peers, he still was focused on his craft and created amazing, life changing art that will live on until the end of time
Overall, the film was great for the next generation of kids who are or will be looking for inspiration.
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