The Michael Jackson Biopic has an Unignorable Elephant in the Room

In the mere two weeks since its release, Lionsgate's Michael Jackson biopic, Michael has been the top grossing movie in the United States. Despite a gargantuan budget between $165-200 million, the film has already managed to double that at the box office. Given the legendary status of its subject, this is far from unexpected but an achievement nonetheless. But despite it's commercial success, it is one of the most divisive films in recent memory; adored by fans, loathed by critics. Michael currently sports a baffling ratio on Rotten Tomatoes with a 39% critic score and a 97% audience score. If you have been keeping up with Michael Jackson's posthumous legacy over the past few years, it's not hard to see where this rift originated. Like millions of other audience members I had the same exact question the moment I sat down to watch the film: "so...are they gonna talk about it?"

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Michael is a biopic about the life and career of late pop star Michael Jackson, spanning from the 1960's to the late 80's. It was made with heavy involvement from the Jackson family, including the titular role being played by his real life nephew, Jaafar Jackson. Over the span of two hours, audiences are taken on Michael's journey from being the breakout star of his family band the Jackson 5 to the undisputed King of Pop. In addition to Jaafar Jackson, the film also has a star-studded cast consisting of Nia Long, Colman Domingo, Miles Teller, and Mike Myers.

There are several aspects of this film that I can see appealing to diehard Michael Jackson fans. Unsurprisingly, it is full of great music that the world has held dear for decades. The earlier scenes of the Jackson 5 are downright gripping. Colman Domingo gives a solid performance as Joseph Jackson, the foreboding family patriarch who abused Michael and his siblings throughout their childhood. The film goes deep into the mind of Michael, examining how trauma shaped him from adolescence to adulthood. It's hard to not feel some serious sympathy for Michael, watching how he was raised to basically hate everything about himself, leading him to get extensive cosmetic surgery including his first rhinoplasty when he was merely 21. So I will give Lionsgate its flowers for showing audiences a deep glimpse into the mind of the King of Pop.

Jaafar Jackson's performance as his famous uncle has been getting significant praise but I found his portrayal to be uncanny at best and downright unsettling at worst. This isn't solely Jackson's fault, the script he was given places a particular emphasis on the...for lack of a better word: creepy aspects of the pop star's life. Namely his proclivity for juvenile things like children's toys that decorated his entire mansion. The extensive prosthetic makeup also makes for a strange, uncanny appearance. That being said, it's a tall order to play someone has iconic as Michael Jackson. In my opinion, the breakout star of Michael is easily Juliano Krue Valdi who played Jackson during his early years in the Jackson 5. In addition to being a standout musical talent, his ability to make me feel such sympathy for his character was a true achievement. I genuinely believe Michael would've been a much stronger film if it was solely about the early years of the Jackson 5 due to Valdi's performance alone.

Due to his undeniable cultural impact and relevance, it's somewhat surprising to see that it took until 2026 for the release 0f a Michael Jackson biopic...until you think for more than two seconds. Despite his unmatched career, Michael Jackson's legacy has been viewed through a different lens over the past few years due to a plethora of disturbing allegations of child abuse. Back in 2019, the landmark documentary Leaving Neverland was released, detailing Jackson's extensive allegations of grooming and abusing young boys at his estate, Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, California. Allegations of Jackson's possible illegal behavior have surfaced as far back as 1993, but to this day, it seems like more people disregard these claims than believe them. Of course, Jackson's image as a beloved cultural icon is to blame for this, people simply don't want to believe that someone they admire so much could do such terrible things. As depressing as it is to say, it seems people still need to be reminded in 2026 that you never know what goes on behind closed doors, especially when it comes to celebrities.

As it turns out, Michael was originally meant to conclude in 1993 with the star being apprehended at Neverland Ranch, hinting at his impending crumbling legacy. This was changed at the last minute and the film endured $15 million worth of reshoots, no doubt in an attempt to preserve the star's image in the eyes of the audience. In hindsight, this makes the film's timeframe ending in the 80's nothing short of sinisterly convenient. It's like if you made a biopic about Harvey Weinstein and stopped in 2016. This was almost certainly due to the film's intense involvement from the existing Jackson family who have vehemently maintained Michael's innocence over the years. This is the main problem that critics have with Michael, calling it "sanitized" and not entirely truthful. The film has even been panned by Jackson's daughter, Paris stating that it "panders to a very specific side of my dad's fandom that still lives in the fantasy." According to her, "there's a lot of inaccuracies and there's a lot of just full blown lies, and at the end of the day that doesn't really fly with me." If you're going to listen to anyone's take on the accuracy of Michael, it might as well be the star's own daughter.

Despite Michael only being out for two weeks, a sequel as already been greenlit due to its enormous financial success, so at some point they're going to have to talk about it. Only time will tell if they do it in a way that is tasteful and most importantly, accurate and respectful to the alleged victims.

More likely than not, we will never know the true extent of Michael Jackson's past controversial behavior, but with the impending subsequent biopic, the discussion is inevitable on the part of the existing Jackson family. I was not there at Neverland Ranch when the alleged abuse took place, but as we've historically seen, where there's smoke there's fire.

Michael is a complicated movie. On one hand the enormous budget shows and the recreations of iconic music videos and performances deserve some praise in addition to showing the mental inner working of its subject. But at the end of the day, Lionsgate presented an undeniably sanitized view of the King of Pop, portraying him as an innocent, flawless figure when the truth is far more complex, and in my opinion, more interesting. At the risk of sounding too much like a cliché, Michael's quality can be summed up in one word: "Bad."