Richard Crouse

SYNOPSIS: Jaafar Jackson, son of Jackson 5 member Jermaine Jackson, and nephew to Michael Jackson, plays his King of Pop uncle in the flashy new biopic “Michael.”

CAST: Jaafar Jackson, Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Juliano Krue Valdi, Miles Teller, Colman Domingo. Directed by Antoine Fuqua.

REVIEW: Michael Jackson’s rise to fame and the accompanying tribulations are given a high gloss treatment in “Michael.” From the hardscrabble upbringing in Gary, Indiana and the Jackson 5 to a stratospheric solo career and the isolation of fame, it’s a Wikipedia page come to life and projected on the screen.

The front row seat to the life and (most of) the legacy of Michael Jackson (Juliano Krue Valdi as young Michael. Jaafar Jackson as adult Michael) begins with the well documented rise of the Jackson 5 and the physical and emotional abuse at the hand of Michael’s controlling father Joe (Colman Domingo). “Let me tell you something,” says Joe. “In this life, you’re either a winner or you’re a loser.”

The road to stardom begins when Motown founder Barry Gordy (Larenz Tate) signs the band and helps launch the Jackson 5 to national stardom.

From Joseph and Katherine Jackson’s (Nia Long) humble living room to MTV and the world’s biggest stages, Jackson grows up in public, personally and professionally, amid a swirl of triumphs and personal struggles.

Before you ask, yes, Bubbles makes an appearance in “Michael.” He’s a CGI version of the chimp once kept by Michael Jackson as a pet, but he feels about as real as anything else in this crowd-pleasingly tuneful but sanitized and safe biopic.

The story of triumph over adversity, of genius and creative vision, begins in a dark place. Joseph Jackson, father and manager of Michael Jackson and The Jacksons, played with malignant vigor by Colman Domingo, puts his five sons through their paces with the intensity of a Marine drill sergeant. These early, ugly scenes of abuse hit hard as young Michael is driven to perfection at the end of his father’s belt.

But what begins as a hard-hitting biography soon settles into a more familiar greatest hits style movie propped up by Jackson’s prodigious back catalogue of music. Director Antoine Fuqua, working from a clichéd script by John Logan, settles into authorized biography rhythm, highlighting Jackson’s many successes without ever going deep.

In the film’s final half hour, Fuqua decides to give up on the story completely.  “Michael,” much to the delight of the audience I saw thew film with, shifts from biopic to concert film with several show-stopping performances from Jaafar Jackson.

Jackson, who spent two years training for the role, nails his paternal uncle’s physicality, especially in the elaborate musical numbers, like the dramatization of the making of the “Thriller” video, and concert scenes.

A replication of the electrifying debut of M.J.’s moonwalk on the “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” special is almost as exciting as it was when Michael did it in 1983. It’s a blast of loud and proud nostalgia that plays really well in IMAX, as do most of the musical performances.

What’s missing is insight. It’s all uplift as Michael, robbed of his childhood, finds his way through the world, shedding the influence of his father in favor of charting his own course to superstardom.

As with other authorized music biographies like “Elvis” or “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the story’s rough edges are mostly shaved away. The thorny issue of the 1993 sexual assault allegation was addressed in the film’s original cut but had to be scrapped due to a legal agreement with the accuser’s family. According to the Wall Street Journal, a sequel is already in the works for 2027 or 2028 that will address those allegations.

Jackson was a complicated figure, but the movie isn’t interested in exploring those complications in a meaningful way.

We see close-ups of his favorite book, a children’s picture book of “Peter Pan.” We learn of his admiration for Charlie Chaplin but virtually nothing about his relationship with his brothers, who are treated like extras in the story, the evolution of his signature fashion style or the inspiration for his songs, save for “Thriller,” which seems to have been initiated by Vincent Price’s “House of Wax.” Janet Jackson fans may also be left wondering why there is no mention of her.

“Michael” is beyond lightweight. It’s a “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” style music bio, except for when it is in motion; singing and dancing. As a biography, it’s a pretty good concert film. The musical numbers are terrific, nicely performed by Jaafar Jackson, whose mimicry of his uncle’s signature moves is spot on. These sequences are head-turners and should please fans looking for a blast of in-your-face nostalgia.

Michael Jackson is one of the biggest selling performers of all time, and one of the most documented, so perhaps there aren’t any revelations to be had seventeen years after his death. But it is a shame that the adventurous spirit that characterized the superstar’s best work is missing from the film.