Michael (2026)
Biography · Drama · Music
| Director | Antoine Fuqua |
| Cast | Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller |
| Screenplay | John Logan |
| Music | Michael Jackson (30 original songs) |
| Distributed By | Lionsgate (US) · Universal (Global) |
I’ll tell you exactly how my experience went.
First twenty minutes — goosebumps. Legit goosebumps. Watching Jaafar Jackson move and perform as his uncle is one of the most surreal things I’ve ever seen in a cinema. The guy doesn’t just look like Michael Jackson. He IS Michael Jackson. The hands, the footwork, the way he tilts his head before a big moment. It’s not an impression. It’s something else entirely.
Then around the halfway point I started noticing something.
The film keeps pulling its punches.
Every time it gets close to something real and complicated and uncomfortable — it steps back. Wraps things up neatly. Moves on to the next performance sequence. And those performance sequences are genuinely incredible so you get swept up again. But then it happens again. And again.
By the time the credits rolled I had watched something spectacular and something frustrating. Both at the same time. In the same film.
What You’re Actually Getting Here
So first — this film doesn’t cover Michael Jackson’s full life. Not even close. It goes from his childhood in Gary, Indiana, through the Jackson 5, through his early solo career, and it stops right around 1987. The Bad tour is just beginning and then — credits.
No Thriller era in detail. No Neverland. No allegations. No trial. None of it.
The reason is complicated — apparently one of Jackson’s accusers had a legal settlement that prevented them from being depicted on screen, which forced a major restructuring of the third act. So what you get is basically the origin story. Michael Jackson Part One.
And look — within those limits, the film does a lot right. The Joe Jackson stuff is genuinely hard to watch in the best way. The early Motown scenes are electric. The moment young Michael steps into the spotlight for the first time and you realize what you’re seeing — that scene hits hard.
But you can’t escape the feeling that you’re watching a highlights reel. Produced, in part, by the Jackson estate. It shows.
Jaafar Jackson — I Don’t Have Words
Okay I have some words.
His acting in the quieter scenes — still finding his feet, you can tell this is his first film, there are moments where the emotion the scene needs isn’t fully there yet.
But performing? Dancing? Being Michael Jackson on stage in front of 50,000 people?
Absolutely. Terrifyingly. Convincingly.
There’s a sequence about two thirds through the film — I won’t say which song — where he does this thing with his feet and then stops and just LOOKS at the camera and the entire theater I was in went completely silent for a second and then erupted. That doesn’t happen. Films don’t do that to you. This one did.
Oscar conversation is already happening. It should be.
Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson
The best pure acting in the film. No question.
Joe Jackson was many things — abusive father, relentless manager, the reason his children became stars, the reason those same children were damaged in ways they never fully recovered from. Domingo holds all of that at once. He never plays Joe as simply a villain. He’s not letting him off the hook either. It’s just — complicated. Real. The kind of performance where you understand every choice even when you hate what the character is doing.
There’s one scene between him and Jaafar that is the best dramatic scene in the whole film. Two people in a room. No music. No spectacle. Just history between a father and son, and both actors completely in it. That scene alone is worth the ticket.
Nia Long as Katherine Jackson is underused. Really underused. It’s a waste of a good actress in a role that deserved twice the screen time.
Miles Teller as John Branca is fine. Kat Graham as Diana Ross is fun. Larenz Tate as Berry Gordy has real presence in his scenes. Good ensemble overall — just nobody else near Domingo’s level.
The Music
30 original songs. Thirty.
The sound mix is exceptional. In IMAX it’s almost overwhelming in the best way — you feel the music in your chest. Billie Jean, Beat It, Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough, ABC — these songs at full volume in a dark theater with Jaafar Jackson performing them on screen is an experience that’s genuinely hard to describe to someone who hasn’t had it yet.
If you’re going to watch this film, IMAX is not optional. It’s mandatory. The difference is enormous.
The Critic vs Audience Problem
38% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. A on CinemaScore from audiences. $97 million opening weekend — biggest biopic debut in history.
Both sides are right and that’s the weird thing about this film.
Critics are right that it’s sanitized. That ending it in 1987 is a choice that lets everyone off the hook. That a film partly produced by the Jackson estate was never going to show you the full complicated human being.
Audiences are right that it’s spectacular entertainment. That Jaafar Jackson is extraordinary. That sitting in that theater for two hours ten minutes is a genuinely great time.
It depends what you want from it. Know what you’re walking into and you’ll have a great night. Walk in expecting a complete reckoning with one of pop music’s most complicated legacies — you’ll walk out frustrated.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Jaafar Jackson is genuinely one of the most extraordinary debut performances I’ve seen
- Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson — flat out brilliant, Oscar worthy
- The concert sequences are among the best ever filmed — period
- 30 original songs and a sound mix that will shake your chest in IMAX
- The Joe and Michael dynamic gives the film real dramatic weight
- Fuqua directs the big moments with genuine power and scale
Cons:
- Stops in 1987 — the sanitized origin story problem is real
- Estate involvement shows — this is a celebration not an examination
- Biopic formula creaks between the big set pieces
- Nia Long badly wasted as Katherine Jackson
- Jaafar still finding his feet in the quiet dramatic scenes
Go Watch It. But Know What It Is.
In IMAX. That part is non-negotiable.
Michael (2026) is a spectacular, frustrating, thrilling, slightly dishonest piece of cinema that I enjoyed enormously and left feeling slightly cheated by. Those two things coexist in this film and there’s nothing to be done about it.
Jaafar Jackson is the real deal. Full stop. Whatever this film’s limitations — and they are real — he transcends them every single time he steps onto a stage. That’s not nothing. That’s actually everything.
Go see it. Form your own opinion. The conversation after is worth having.
Our Rating: 3.5 / 5 ⭐
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Michael (2026) about?
It’s a biopic about Michael Jackson — starting from his Gary, Indiana childhood, through the Jackson 5, through his early solo career. It ends around 1987 at the start of the Bad tour. A second film covering the rest of his life is reportedly in development.
Who plays Michael Jackson in the film?
Jaafar Jackson — Michael’s actual nephew. This is his acting debut. He’s extraordinary in the performance sequences. Juliano Valdi plays young Michael in the childhood sections.
Who else is in Michael (2026)?
Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson. Nia Long as Katherine Jackson. Miles Teller as John Branca. Kat Graham as Diana Ross. Larenz Tate as Berry Gordy. Derek Luke as Johnnie Cochran.
Why do critics hate Michael (2026) but audiences love it?
Critics — 38% on Rotten Tomatoes — feel the film is sanitized and avoids the complicated parts of Jackson’s story by ending in 1987. Audiences gave it an A on CinemaScore because the performances and music are spectacular entertainment. Both reactions make sense.
How much did Michael (2026) make at the box office?
$97 million domestically and $217 million globally in its opening weekend — the biggest biopic debut ever. It’s crossed $577 million worldwide and still going.
Will there be a Michael (2026) Part 2?
Yes, reportedly. A second film covering the Thriller era and beyond — including potentially the more controversial chapters of his life — is in development at Lionsgate.
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