The Michal Jackson film Michael: I left the cinema still wanting more

Film: Michael
Director: Antoine Fuqua 
Reviewer: Funeka Bambalele

 For the first time in my life, I walked out of a cinema feeling genuinely peeved. Two hours with Michael, the new biographical film about the King of Pop, felt far too short for a story of such magnitude.

Michael, now showing in cinemas and available on several platforms, attempts to capture the life and legacy of one of the most influential artists the world has ever known. Yet as the credits rolled, I found myself deeply unsatisfied — the film ends just as the emotional and artistic climax begins. Michael Jackson’s journey is too vast, too layered, too extraordinary to be contained in a single sitting.

To tell the full story of a man whose musical genius emerged at the age of 5 would require far more than two hours. The film traces Jackson’s life beyond the music: from the discovery of his prodigious talent as the lead singer of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose ambition drove him to become the biggest entertainer in the world. It offers glimpses of his off‑stage life and recreates some of his most iconic early solo performances, giving audiences a front‑row seat to Michael Jackson as they’ve never seen him. In many ways, this is where his story truly begins.

The film also revisits the complicated family dynamics that shaped him. His father, Joseph Jackson, is portrayed as a man projecting his own unfulfilled dreams onto his children — Tito, Jermaine, Michael, Randy, Jackie, and Marlon. As their manager, Joseph sought the soft life he believed his children’s talent could provide, and his methods were often physically abusive, especially toward the boys. This harsh upbringing continued until Michael began yearning for creative freedom, wanting to sing about what mattered to him and explore a style that resonated with his own artistic identity.

That desire for autonomy led him to collaborate with the late Quincy Jones, marking the beginning of his groundbreaking solo career. Despite Joseph’s repeated attempts to sabotage his independence, Michael ultimately broke away from the family fold and appointed his own manager — a pivotal step in shaping the global icon he would become.

Michael offers a compelling introduction, but it barely scratches the surface of a life defined by brilliance, complexity, and reinvention. Perhaps no single film could ever do justice to the full story of Michael Jackson. But as I left the theatre, one thing was clear: I still wanted more.

As the biopic unfolds, one thing becomes increasingly clear: Michael Jackson was, in many ways, self‑taught. He wasn’t merely gifted — he was a gift. His creativity, discipline, and instinct were entirely his own, and he always found unique ways of doing things. His deep love for animals, whom he considered part of the family, often surprised his siblings. Now that we’ve seen the film, it suddenly makes perfect sense why the legend’s famous Neverland Ranch included a zoo. The movie reminds us just how deeply Michael loved animals and how naturally he gravitated toward creating a world where innocence, imagination, and companionship could coexist. Most importantly, he never saw his fans as fans; to him, they were “part of the family.”

Juliano Valdi, who portrays the young Michael, delivers an impressive performance, holding his own alongside Nia Long, who brings warmth and quiet strength to the role of Michael’s mother, Katherine. For much of their childhood, Katherine is depicted as a woman unable to shield her children from Joseph’s harsh discipline, forced to watch the abuse unfold in silence. Colman Domingo’s portrayal of Joseph is powerful and unsettling — a man driven by ambition, fear, and the weight of his own unfulfilled dreams.

It also becomes clear that John Logan, the screenwriter, was careful in his approach. He avoided stirring unnecessary controversy by leaving out some of the more contentious hurdles Michael Jackson faced at the height of his fame, choosing instead to focus on the emotional and artistic journey that shaped him.

And if you’re a die‑hard Michael Jackson fan like I am, I’d still urge you to watch it. There’s something powerful about seeing even a fraction of his story brought to life on the big screen.