The portrayal of MJ by his nephew Jaafar Jackson (who prepared for 2 years) is astonishing. You'll forget that you're not watching MJ himself. Likewise younger MJ portrayed by Juliano Valdi will also make you forget that you're not watching the lead singer of the J5. I have to say all the actors did such a good job of it. The movie covers MJ's life from childhood to young adulthood. All the things you've heard about his father's treatment of the brothers...well, you know those old dreaded words "Do I have to take my belt off?" Yeah, they show it. And they show it so graphically on screen you can almost feel each crack of the belt.
The sound, the music, the dancing, the conceptual process of putting together of various albums...it's captivating.
There was one dance move that involved arm extension I thought was done in error. (I can't help myself). When I went back and viewed the original performance by MJ, I noticed that he had made the move more than once and saw that Jaafar had actually nailed all the variations in the moves.
We had 3 generations in our group. As soon as the credits started to roll, every single person said "I want to see it again!" and we probably will. It's the kind of movie that you don't want to end.
We stayed for the credit roll because we wanted to see if Jaafar did his own singing. There may or may not have been some impromptu dancing in the dark by a big Black sister over on the side under the exit sign with the usher while her friend, another big Black sister, danced with some Jersey Girl at center.
Jaafar did do his own singing only they blended it with MJ. That's how they did it with Austin Butler's portrayal of Elvis. The effect was just perfect!
Going by the statement at the end of the credits, there's going to be a part 2.
Thread Starter Rules: Do NOT engage in negative statements re:legal issues and MJ. No MJ name calling. The movie isn't about that.
Go see the flick. You'll forget where you are. Watch Jaafar embody his uncle as you progressively forget that it's Jaafar. You'll likely experience a number of emotional moments. For those of us who went it was about those emotional moments, the performance, and especially the music.
Go. It's insanely good.
