Michael Jackson's This is It
Michael Jackson's This is It (2009)
6/10
Michael Jackson’s This is It does exactly what it sets out to do. There is not much to say about it. What it does is to recreate the best it can, the planned concert tour titled This is It using footage of rehearsals and extra filmed segments that were meant to accompany Jackson during the concert. It opens with the dancers who were talented enough to be picked as background performers praising Jackson and explaining his impact on their lives. The film certainly indulges in praising Jackson and there is a clear tilt on how director Kenny Ortega, who also choreographed the concert, wants to portray the late pop icon. Thankfully, the film does not focus on overindulgence and given the circumstances, any doses of praise cannot be considered a flaw.
The film is interesting on two levels. The first is that the it is comprised of the planned set list of the concert and through editing and the footage Ortega had, reconstructs the concert for the viewer. Instead of interviews, retrospectives or biographical information, the film focuses solely on recreating the concert. This is a pleasant surprise and the film does a fantastic job of giving the audience a sense of the experience they would have had. On another level, the film maintains interest through seeing Jackson and company attempting to put together something grand and spectacular. Seeing Jackson work through songs is consistently interesting and the act of putting together the type of concert that goes way beyond watching musicians play and is focused on being as big a spectacle as it can is interesting as well.
Some of the numbers planned are painful. The “Thriller” 3-D sequence is just unfortunate, the “Smooth Criminal” inserts were horrific and the “Earth Song” segment was well meaning but so over the top that any relevance that Jackson meant to instill is ruined through the conceptual presentation of the song. Also, the film is simply what it is and after a while it is difficult to sustain interest especially if many of his songs are not very good, which for me at least was the case. It simply is what it is and nothing more. It is nice and interesting to be able to see the film but it is not something that sticks with you or means all that much. It does what it does; you watch it with moderate interest and move on.
6/10
Michael Jackson’s This is It does exactly what it sets out to do. There is not much to say about it. What it does is to recreate the best it can, the planned concert tour titled This is It using footage of rehearsals and extra filmed segments that were meant to accompany Jackson during the concert. It opens with the dancers who were talented enough to be picked as background performers praising Jackson and explaining his impact on their lives. The film certainly indulges in praising Jackson and there is a clear tilt on how director Kenny Ortega, who also choreographed the concert, wants to portray the late pop icon. Thankfully, the film does not focus on overindulgence and given the circumstances, any doses of praise cannot be considered a flaw.
The film is interesting on two levels. The first is that the it is comprised of the planned set list of the concert and through editing and the footage Ortega had, reconstructs the concert for the viewer. Instead of interviews, retrospectives or biographical information, the film focuses solely on recreating the concert. This is a pleasant surprise and the film does a fantastic job of giving the audience a sense of the experience they would have had. On another level, the film maintains interest through seeing Jackson and company attempting to put together something grand and spectacular. Seeing Jackson work through songs is consistently interesting and the act of putting together the type of concert that goes way beyond watching musicians play and is focused on being as big a spectacle as it can is interesting as well.
Some of the numbers planned are painful. The “Thriller” 3-D sequence is just unfortunate, the “Smooth Criminal” inserts were horrific and the “Earth Song” segment was well meaning but so over the top that any relevance that Jackson meant to instill is ruined through the conceptual presentation of the song. Also, the film is simply what it is and after a while it is difficult to sustain interest especially if many of his songs are not very good, which for me at least was the case. It simply is what it is and nothing more. It is nice and interesting to be able to see the film but it is not something that sticks with you or means all that much. It does what it does; you watch it with moderate interest and move on.
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