Review: Michael (2026).

   

Michael Jackson was the most famous entertainer of all time, and even today, his music still resonates with the public despite all the disturbing allegations about his personal life. It's no surprise that he'd eventually get a biopic after the likes of Freddie Mercury and Elvis. We all know how movies like this tend to go; they butter up the person they're about and make them out to be a saint or whatever, and audiences may or may not eat it up. This film is directed by Antonie Fuqua; while Training Day is a cult-bordering-on-mainstream classic, he's never been an objectively good filmmaker. His movies are just entertaining. Sure, he's not the worst there is, but no movie with his name attached is great. He's kinda like a black Michael Bay.

    That said, I was a bit surprised to see this movie be as panned as it has been by critics. In hindsight, it makes sense; in 2026, critics are unwilling to overlook or dismiss Michael Jackson's child molestation allegations, so a film that doesn't touch upon them like this one is obviously going to be met with resistance. Critics aren't willing to accept only the more positive points about MJ's life; they want the whole picture, and a good biopic would juggle all facets of the subject material to give us a nuanced, unbiased perspective. This movie only exists to glaze Michael Jackson and make you forget about all the multimillion dollar payments to the families who accused him of molesting their children. People aren't going to put up with that kind of sugarcoating in this day and age. Not even Michael Jackson's own (not biological) daughter Paris.

    What do you expect, though? Obviously a film backed by Michael Jackson's estate won't be unbiased in any universe. At the very least, this film could have focused more on Michael's traumatic upbringing and show what made him become the manchild who believed he was Peter Pan. Go more into why he felt he missed out on his childhood. Show how constantly rehearsing, recording, and performing music made him yearn to do normal kid stuff like have sleepovers or play at the park. Why he wanted to change his face through plastic surgery. If they wanted to make him out to be innocent of having molested children, they could have made him out to be a misunderstood dude who simply related more to kids than adults. Allude and hint toward the troubles he'd face in the future. Especially considering that they're apparently planning to cover his lawsuits in a sequel, although I doubt that's going to come out now.

    Is the acting good, at least? Not particularly. Let's talk about the actors. It stars Michael Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role. He's not a bad actor, but we all know he only got the role because of his relation to Michael Jackson. And frankly, his acting isn't even that good. You got that one guy from Euphoria as Joe Jackson, too, but he's just there for the paycheck. MJ's brothers are depicted as being little more than background props. For some reason, the closest actor to A-list stars as ... John Branca, who is in charge of Michael Jackson's money-hungry estate.

    There are quite a few historical inaccuracies in this film. "Never Can Say Goodbye" is performed before the Jackson 5 even signed to Motown, for one. Michael is given credit for coming up with Thriller's title when it was actually Rod Temperton, who only gets one mention in the film. Now how you gonna do Rod like that? Sigh. Obviously, this film only came together to fight off yet another family claiming to have suffered abuse at the hands of Michael Jackson. No matter how popular his music is, the allegations will always be a blemish on his legacy. Regardless of whether or not he's innocent, celebrity worship is a waste of time. 

Best scene: Michael playing with his father Joe as Peter Pan and Captain Hook.