Critics label the new Michael Jackson biopic as a 'whitewash', claiming it presents a sanitized version of his life. The film, featuring Jaafar Jackson, omits key allegations against the singer due to a non-disclosure agreement.
Key points
Critics call the film a 'whitewash'
Jaafar Jackson portrays Michael Jackson
Film omits sexual abuse allegations
Footage referencing allegations removed due to NDA
Uses original vocals for musical numbers
Mentioned in this story
Michael JacksonJaafar Jackson
Film critics have described the new Michael Jackson biopic as a "whitewash", with several reviewers saying it tells a "sanitised" version of his life and career.
The singer's nephew Jaafar Jackson portrays the singer in Michael, which follows the King of Pop's rise to fame with the Jackson 5 through to his hugely successful solo career.
But the movie does not address the sexual abuse allegations against Jackson, after a historic non-disclosure agreement (NDA) prompted some footage referencing them to be scrapped.
The Hollywood Reporter said the film "delivers for lifelong fans who cherish the music", but the Telegraph noted that it "refuses to address the elephant in the room".
Michael is financially backed by the late superstar's estate and uses his original vocals for the musical numbers, which dominate the film.
Jaafar Jackson, the son of Jermaine Jackson, was generally praised for the portrayal of his uncle, but the film as a whole was less well received.
In a two-star review the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw said the movie is "rammed with every music-movie cliche" and plays "like a 127-minute trailer montage".
"This is a frustratingly shallow, inert picture, a kind of cruise-ship entertainment, which can't quite bring itself to show that Michael was an abuse victim, brutalised by his father and robbed of his childhood," he wrote, also noting the allegations against Jackson himself.
Oscar nominee Colman Domingo plays the singer's father Joe Jackson in the film, which also stars Nia Long as mother Katherine Jackson, and Top Gun: Maverick star Miles Teller as entertainment lawyer John Branca.
She compared Michael to other recent music biopics, commenting that "the line between 'cinema' and 'merchandise' has come close to being obliterated".
"All Michael does is recreate, in mechanical style, the most famous visuals of Jackson's career," she said. "It's certainly easier that way. Why bother to depict a human being when you can simply turn them into a product?"
The film's release follows a string of musical biopics over the last decade, which are seen by Hollywood as reliable box office hits.
Queen, Sir Elton John, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams and Whitney Houston have all received the cinematic treatment in recent years.
Q&A
What are the main criticisms of the Michael Jackson biopic?
Critics describe the film as a 'whitewash' for not addressing the sexual abuse allegations against Jackson and presenting a sanitized version of his life.
Who plays Michael Jackson in the new biopic?
Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson's nephew, portrays the singer in the film.
Why was footage addressing allegations against Michael Jackson removed from the film?
Footage referencing the sexual abuse allegations was scrapped due to a historic non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
How does the film 'Michael' cater to fans of Michael Jackson?
The film features original vocals from Michael Jackson for its musical numbers, appealing to lifelong fans who cherish his music.
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In another one-star review, Kevin Maher of the Times said Michael would be seen as a "watershed moment" for the music biopic genre - and not in a good way.
"It will be known as that infamous film in which the subject became completely untethered from reality and the film delivered instead two hours of pure and unadulterated [rubbish]," he said in his strongly-worded review.
But, he conceded, the music scenes are "nonetheless are quite brilliant and thrilling".
The biopic is directed by Antoine Fuqua, whose previous credits include Training Day, Olympus Has Fallen and The Equalizer.
Several critics highlighted the absence of any acknowledgement of the allegations that the singer sexually abused young boys.
The film originally included references to the allegations, with much of the film's third act dedicated to a scandal involving Jordan Chandler, who was 13 at the time he accused Jackson or abusive behaviour.
But, according to Hollywood publication Variety, the footage was scrapped along with any mention of the child molestation charges due to the rediscovery of conditions that were part of a previous NDA.
Lawyers for the Jackson estate realised there was a clause in the settlement with Chandler that forbade the depiction or mention of him in any movie.
A series of reshoots took place so new material could be filmed, while a new ending was written so the movie would conclude in the late 1980s, before the first allegations were made.
A jury cleared Jackson of sexually abusing a different 13-year-old boy in 2005.
Fuqua has said he does not know the truth behind the allegations, but sounded a note of scepticism about Jackson's accusers, telling Variety that "sometimes people do some nasty things for some money".
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin said the resulting film was a "whitewash", adding that the avoidance of any mention of the allegations was a "borderline-fatal problem".
"It is simply not credible for a film to claim to be about Michael Jackson without addressing, even obliquely, the accusations, controversies and sadness that dogged his later life," Collin said.
"You don't have to dramatise these things; you should, at least, acknowledge or foreshadow them."
By "glossing over" the allegations, "the final film has been mostly stripped of any humanity, good and bad", wrote IndieWire's Kate Erbland.
She described Michael as "glossy, sanitised, and surprisingly dull".
"The film leaves itself open to accusations of making Michael a saint, which will not sit well with the cancel crowd," he said.
"If you are unwilling to separate the art from the artist, this will not be a movie for you. But for lifelong fans who cherish the music, the movie delivers. Simply as a celebration of Jackson's songs and stagecraft, it's phenomenal."
Another US critic, Variety's Owen Gleiberman, was similarly enthusiastic. "The surprise of Michael is how well it plays, and what an engrossing middle-of-the-road biopic it is," he said, praising its performances and cinematography.
Deadline's Pete Hammond said the film "falls short of giving any new insights", but said Jaafar Jackson "dazzles" in a film that fans would "eat up".
"You are bound to leave this one dancing, and what is wrong with that?" he asked.
Jackson was known for worldwide hits such as Billie Jean, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, and Black or White, while 1982's Thriller is the biggest-selling album of all time.
Several other critics also praised Jaafar Jackson, with the Independent remarking on the "uncanny" resemblance, the Hollywood Reporter saying he "disappears into the role", and Deadline declaring he "sells this performance with all the right dance moves and sharp dramatic talent to make us believe Michael Jackson is once again with us".
Jackson's sons Prince Jackson and Bigi, formerly known as Blanket, have joined other family members at premieres for the film - but their sister Paris has stayed away, after saying last year that it panders to a "fandom that still lives in the fantasy".
The film's approach is ultimately "taking the Michael", according to Empire's John Nugent, who said the biopic ultimately "feels very strongly like a cynical moneymaking machine".
Awarding two stars, Terry Staunton of the Radio Times said the film "drifts from one underwritten scene to the next", and adapted the lyrics of Jackson's 1979 hit Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough for his conclusion: "Please stop 'cause I've had enough."
