This Is It

As a paid up member of the ill-fated O2 residence (Actually having two sets of tickets) I would like to personalise this review somewhat in order to contextualise what the turbulent life of Michael Jackson represented to me.

Not a huge fan, in fact bar the odd appearance in Men in Black and the spectacularly funny Mr. Jefferson episode of South Park, he had pretty much vanished off the pop-culture radar since his underrated Invincible album. There were of course the tedious court cases and the odd CD compilation posters that adorned the tube station walls in an attempt to recover some of the stars crippling debts. It’s a sad indictment that he was perhaps more known to the modern generation as a punchline and not the game changing artist who revolutionised Motown. Growing up as an eighties child Jacko hadn’t yet become the wacko, and his music was as much an accompaniment to my adolescence as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Raspberry ice pops.

The news that a film was to be made from the 200 hours of rehearsal footage compiled for the singers own personal library wasn’t greeted with shouts of necrophilia (a word I’ve read in many reviews that I feel is wholly inappropriate), and only mild accusations of macabre money making. It was instead a chance to see a performer that had been inaccessible to an audience for many a year doing what he does best.

The tagline purports that “This is it. Like you’ve never seen him before”. But the problem is we have, numerous times. The most disappointing aspect of this documentary eulogy is that there is too much performance and not enough of the behind the scenes going on at the Staples Centre rehearsals. When we are given a rare glimpse into the meticulous planning of a born perfectionist its refreshing to see a sense of “normality” from an icon constructed as weird. A smile here, a “it needs to simmer there” are all small moments that amount to so much more than the musical footage, which lets face it is only practice. Jacko himself says numerous times that he’s “saving his voice”.

But what a voice. Add to that the dexterity of a man who constantly puts his backing dancers to shame (despite a decidedly dodgy new move in “Human Nature”) at the ripe old age of 50 (although the bias nature of the doc means you get the feeling we weren’t seeing everything) and all the indicators pointed towards an amazing comeback for the King of Pop. Of the musical numbers both Thriller, with its 3-D intro and puppet ghouls, and the promise of a Jackson 5 medley stand out amongst a cacophony of classics.

Enjoyment is entirely dependent on the mindset of the viewer. Stay away if you’re a non-fan or you want an intrinsic examination of a cultural icon, because this isn’t it. In fact it’s not even a concert movie. Its just an interesting footnote to the career of a fascinating character.