{"id":639003,"date":"2026-04-30T17:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T17:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/639003\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T17:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T17:25:08","slug":"a-profound-depiction-michael-jackson-fans-support-divisive-biopic-as-film-smashes-records-michael","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/639003\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A profound depiction\u2019: Michael Jackson fans support divisive biopic as film smashes records | Michael"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday evening, revelers gathered in the lobby of New York\u2019s Regal Union Square movie theater before filing into the night\u2019s slate of Michael<\/a> screenings. The King of Pop has become box office royalty after the film moonwalked into the biggest opening weekend for a biopic ever<\/a> (even surpassing 2023\u2019s Oppenheimer). Now, its success has resulted in even more attention worthy of Michael Jackson<\/a>\u2019s immense star-power, with videos circulating online of fans dancing<\/a> in the aisles at screenings and a sequel likely in the works<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, much like Jackson\u2019s current polarizing force in culture, it\u2019s all a tale of contrasts<\/a>. The movie\u2019s Rotten Tomatoes critics\u2019 score of a paltry 37%, compared with a 97% audience score is a rare chasm. The Guardian\u2019s Peter Bradshaw was one of many who lambasted<\/a> the Antoine Fuqua-directed film, saying it was \u201cbland, bowdlerised and bad\u201d, as well as \u201cfrustratingly shallow\u201d.<\/p>\n

Many fans I spoke to were undeterred. \u201cI grew up listening to him and my dad was the main fan,\u201d said Joanne, a Long Island University college student from Fort Greene, Brooklyn who made the trek to this Manhattan multiplex to see the movie for what will be her second time. \u201cWe have all of his CDs, pictures, books and vinyls.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the occasion, she was dressed in Jackson\u2019s signature Off the Wall<\/a> album outfit: shiny black shoes with white socks, accented by a black jacket, white button-down shirt and bow tie. \u201cThis was the first time I dressed up for a movie.\u201d Not to be outdone, her friend Tahliah sported a DIY peace sign shirt in tribute to Jackson\u2019s look in his music video for 1995\u2019s They Don\u2019t Care About Us<\/a>; she stayed up late making it by hand the night before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to come see it again, because I thought it was amazing,\u201d said Joanne. \u201cI think it\u2019s put together nicely as a starter for fans to get into him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Melanie, a resident of Bushwick, Brooklyn, was about to see Michael<\/a> for her first time and admitted she avoided perusing any reviews beforehand. \u201cI haven\u2019t really been going to the movies since the pandemic, but I came to see this one because of the hype around it and I\u2019m a big Michael fan,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Others were more dubious: Belize from the Bronx, in line for popcorn, considered buying a ticket for Michael before opting for the Zendaya and Robert Pattinson dramedy The Drama<\/a> instead. \u201cI was on the fence about it, and what really made me skeptical was when I heard Janet isn\u2019t featured in it because I know they were very close,\u201d she said. (Michael\u2019s famous sister didn\u2019t participate in its production and is entirely left out of the movie as a character).<\/p>\n

As the lights went down inside the \u2018Screen X\u2019 screening room (a Regal gimmick where the projection wraps around both the left and right walls, purporting to give theatergoers a more \u2018immersive\u2019 experience) a hush fell over the crowd. We aptly kick off with the opening chords of his Wanna Be Startin\u2019 Somethin\u2019 before transitioning into Jackson\u2019s childhood origin story of his early days on the rise with the Jackson Five.<\/p>\n

A fan wears a Michael Jackson-inspired outfit at the premiere of Michael this April. Photograph: Nadja Wohlleben\/Reuters<\/p>\n

While the audience grimaced when Joe Jackson (played deftly by Colman Domingo) whips a young Jackson despite delivering a successful performance, the first big reaction came when Juliano Valdi, who plays 10-year-old Michael, records lyrics for the first time for Motown legend Berry Gordy. Fuqua drops the music to spotlight raw vocals from Valdi, who so unmistakably sounds like Jackson that the crowd audibly ooo\u2019d at the young actor\u2019s seemingly vocal prowess. They did the same when adult Michael, played by his real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson (Jermaine\u2019s son), sings sounding just like his iconic uncle. There were awws too, like when Jackson instinctively hugs Gordy; he\u2019s one of the first people we see be warm with Jackson.<\/p>\n

The film doesn\u2019t shy away from attempting to explain how a young Michael developed some of his bizarre behaviors in adulthood, including obsessions with childhood and its tropes. Instead, the film plays them for laughs. The audience cracked up at the antics of the animals he surrounds himself with, from giraffes to his longtime chimp friend Bubbles. Meanwhile, the closest Jackson comes to any romanticism is when we see him having a heartfelt conversation with a seeming love interest, only for the camera to reveal he wasn\u2019t talking to a person, but a llama named Louie, which also caused the audience to cackle. (All of the animals were reportedly CGI\u2019d in, at great cost)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jackson is also seen repeatedly reading an illustrated Peter Pan book, an allusion to his future Neverland Ranch with the singer equating his father to Hook, the story\u2019s villain. Meanwhile, Mickey Mouse (stunningly licensed by Disney for use all over the film) appears multiple times, including when Jackson\u2019s attorney (and future co-executor) John Branca, played by Miles Teller, brings a Mickey plush to an adult Michael after he injures himself during his infamous Pepsi commercial mishap.<\/p>\n

Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in Michael. Photograph: Glen Wilson\/AP<\/p>\n

The movie ends with an ominous His Story Continues title card: it\u2019s been well-reported that the film\u2019s plot strategically halts just short of the latter era of his fame which was largely overshadowed by the child sex abuse accusations and subsequently cast a dark pall over his legacy. With this, the film-makers can portray Jackson as positively as possible; much like a movie of OJ Simpson that ends before the summer of 1994. That wasn\u2019t always the plan: the original cut depicted these allegations, but were cut when film-makers realized one of his accusers had a clause in a settlement \u201cbarring any depiction or mention of him in any movie\u201d<\/a>. Cue $15m in reshoots.<\/p>\n

Then again as Dan Reed, the director of the explosive 2019 Leaving Neverland documentary which outlined the abuse, recently told<\/a> the Hollywood Reporter upon the release of Michael: \u201cA lot of people, I think, will kind of swallow any misgivings they may have and just sort of say, \u2018Oh well, it\u2019s a great jukebox movie\u2019 and just completely ignore the fact that this guy was worse than Jeffrey Epstein.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the credits rolled and the crowd shuffled out, Andrea from Bensonhurst\u2019s first take was that \u201cJaafar did very well, but it was certainly missing some things,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted more, it was long enough to tell the whole story. But I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll go see a sequel,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted more, too,\u201d said Shawn, a Flatbush resident who brought his two kids, one of whom fell asleep during the screening. \u201cI grew up with Michael, so the movie could have been eight hours to tell the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want my honest opinion?\u201d asked David, a journalist who lives in New York, as he left the theater. \u201cI think it\u2019s a profound demonstration of Michael Jackson\u2019s power and influence that people will come to see a movie almost 20 years after his death. I\u2019m happy I saw it and it showed how hard his childhood was. I think generally speaking it\u2019s boring when people are presented in such a positive light. People are complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n