Michael 2026 Review

Michael 2026 Review

Michael 2026 Review: Jaafar Jackson Is Electric — and the Film Knows It

Michael 2026 movie review verdict: if you love Michael Jackson’s music, you will enjoy this film. If you came looking for a deep, challenging portrait of one of the most complicated figures in pop history, you will leave with questions the movie deliberately chose not to answer. Antoine Fuqua’s biopic covers Michael Jackson’s life from 1966 to 1988 — his Gary, Indiana beginnings through the Jackson 5, Motown, his solo rise, and the launch of the Bad tour — and it does so with genuine affection, impressive production value, and a lead performance that earns every scene it’s in.

What Is Michael?

Michael examines the life of the King of Pop from 1966 to 1988, showing Jackson’s rise from Motown wunderkind to international superstar — and the difficult relationship he shared with his father. The film was written by John Logan and stars Jaafar Jackson — Michael’s real nephew, son of Jermaine — in his feature film debut. Colman Domingo plays Joe Jackson. Nia Long plays Katherine. Miles Teller appears as John Branca, Michael’s attorney. The supporting cast rounds out with Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones and Larenz Tate as Berry Gordy.

The final script ends with Jackson beginning the Bad tour, before the first allegations arose. Wikipedia The film is estate-approved, produced with the involvement of the Jackson siblings, and designed to present a celebratory portrait of Michael at the peak of his powers. What it is not — and does not try to be — is an exposé.

The Experience

The moment Jaafar Jackson steps fully into his uncle’s shoes, the film comes alive. The physical resemblance is undeniable — family is family — and Jaafar brings more than just looks to the role. He nails the look, the voice, the electrostatic moves — and the mix of delicacy and steel that made Michael who he was. When the film places him on a stage performing Billie Jean or Thriller, the effect is genuinely extraordinary. You feel the electricity. You understand, viscerally, why this person became the biggest entertainer on the planet.

The soundtrack is the film’s other undeniable strength. From I Want You Back through to Bad, the music is deployed constantly and effectively. There is no denying what those songs are — timeless, era-defining, impossible to sit still to. The concert recreation sequences are lavish and technically impressive. Fuqua clearly put the budget on the screen when it mattered most, and it shows.

The family dynamics are portrayed with care. Joe Jackson, played by Colman Domingo, is depicted as demanding and at times abusive — a portrayal consistent with what has been documented about the real man. Katherine Jackson comes through as warm, loving, and quietly caught between her husband’s iron control and her children’s needs. The brothers provide the context of a family that worked, sacrificed, and grew up together on the road from an early age. And with Jaafar playing Michael, there is a real sense of family chemistry on screen that no casting director could have manufactured.

What Works

Jaafar Jackson’s performance is the film’s center of gravity and its greatest achievement. This is a debut that would be impressive from a seasoned actor. From someone stepping into the role of his own uncle, in his first film, it is remarkable. Longtime fans will adore this film, and Jaafar Jackson delivers a truly remarkable performance, embodying the spirit, the ambition and the physicality of Michael Jackson in a way that’s dazzling to watch.

The music is faultless. It could not be otherwise — the catalog speaks for itself — but the film earns the moments it deploys those songs. The performance sequences feel like events rather than filler.

The production design and period detail are strong throughout. Gary, Indiana in the sixties, Motown in its heyday, and the spectacle of Michael’s early solo career are all rendered with enough specificity to feel grounded rather than generic.

What Doesn’t

The film’s biggest limitation is its own ambition — or lack of it. Since the movie avoids any reference to the child-sexual-abuse allegations that dogged Jackson starting in 1993, you could say that leaves Michael with a hint of a void at its center. This is simply not a movie about Michael Jackson’s dark side. Viewers who want a complete portrait will not find one here.

The pacing rushes through two decades of one of the most extraordinary careers in entertainment history. Within the film’s first twenty minutes, we zip from 1966 to 1968 to 1969 without stopping to let viewers consider the full implications of what they’re seeing. Some chapters of Michael’s story deserved more room to breathe.

The supporting characters, despite strong casting, are underserved by a script that keeps the focus almost entirely on Michael himself. The brothers in particular feel like background presence rather than the central figures they were in his life and career.

Verdict

Michael 2026 is the film Michael Jackson fans wanted — a celebration of the music, the movement, and the man at his peak, delivered with a lead performance that justifies the entire project. It is not the film that critics who wanted something bolder were hoping for. It is safe, it is affectionate, and it is thoroughly entertaining for anyone who grew up with this music.

As far as biopics go, it’s no Thriller, but it’s not Bad either. The King’s catalog carries it through every soft moment in the script, and Jaafar Jackson ensures there are enough genuinely great scenes to make the whole thing worth your two hours and ten minutes.

Go see it. Leave your critical hat at the door and let the music do what Michael Jackson’s music has always done. You will leave the theater smiling.