Whether you like it or not, you may be seeing a dramatic surge in people attempting to moonwalk in public, I would estimate about 200% more than usual. Antoine Fuqua’s “Michael,” a biopic about the unfathomable global phenomenon that was, and still is, Michael Jackson has shattered box office records: 217.4 million dollars in its opening weekend. Despite this clear success, the ratings reveal a peculiar pattern of mixed and bad reviews from critics, culminating in a 38% Rotten Tomatoes critics rating, yet an overall adoration from casual moviegoers and a 97% Rotten Tomatoes audience score. Going into the theater I did not understand how such a disparity could be possible, but once the credits rolled, I immediately began experiencing the same battle in my mind. This movie was one of the most entertaining pieces of media I have ever seen, laying out some of Jackson’s most iconic moments in an exciting, easily followable plot. At the same time, it failed to even touch on the depth of his life, forgoing any of the complexities and controversial incidents of his life. This unfortunately placed it far under my expectations and left me feeling robbed of what was left out.

The movie was simplified to a fault, with Joseph Jackson, Michael’s father, portrayed as a one-note antagonist by Coleman Domingo. While I appreciate the condemnation of how abusive he was, the dynamic was so black and white that it may as well have been Peter Pan and Captain Hook. In fact, that exact metaphor was referenced during a childhood scene. In Michael’s life, there were plenty more “antagonists,” like the exploitative sharks in the music industry he worked with or the doctors that took advantage of his wealth and addiction to prescription medication. This complexity is the case in any human being’s life, so their reduction of his character to this victimized angel whose divine light was dimmed by his father’s cruelty felt slightly insulting and one dimensional.

It was also very interesting that the movie was revealed to be the first part of a larger series of biopics, considering the audience was expecting a take on some of the more controversial events of the later years of his life. They could have done a much better job of clarifying or emphasizing that a sequel to this film was set in stone. Maybe I just live under a rock and missed a massive post about it, but it seemed like a big shock to everyone as the credits rolled.

I must give credit though; the casting was a work of genius, and I do not say that lightly. Jafaar Jackson was uncannily perfect as Michael, especially after the rhinoplasty scene. It felt like watching a real performance at times, which was really special to me. Juliano Krue Valdi was also a spectacular choice for young Michael. His acting was beyond impressive and whatever voice mixing they did worked far better than I had expected. And the dancing — wow. I was stunned at how well both actors mimicked the legend himself. Coleman Domingo also played his role extremely well, even if it was written in a flat and exaggerated manner. He made his character hateable in every scene he had, which is commendable. 

I had a tickle of a thought in the back of my mind the entire movie: Where the heck was Janet? She is easily the most famous of the Jackson women, yet not even a mention of her existence was uttered. La Toya Jackson was the only sister that we got to see, which I suspect correlates with the fact that she is an executive producer of the movie, but I don’t even think she had any lines. If she did, they weren’t memorable. 

There were just too many things skipped over, even if it was only part one. If the whole plot was centered around the Jackson family and Michael’s relationship with its members, why leave out two siblings? Even the sister and brothers that were included in the movie were made into nothing more than background characters, as if their purpose in his life was just to emphasize his greatness and nothing more. There was never any hint of jealousy from the brothers towards Michael, even though it famously existed in real life. Jermaine Jackson wrote a diss track expressing his bitterness that Michael took his place as lead singer of the Jackson 5, yet his character happily sang background notes as Michael all but ascended to the heavens in each performance. 

But as a born and raised fan of Michael, it still was a joy to watch. Dopamine was flowing through my brain at every high note, and when the movie got to the “Thriller” music video, I was giddily tapping my feet and grinning like a crazy person. This is where that split between the near perfect audience score and the relatively bad critics score made perfect sense to me: As a Michael Jackson fan, I enjoyed that movie so much and went along with the artificial plot, but as a person reflecting back on the details, it had some massive flaws.