Film Review: Michael (2026)

Release Date: April 24, 2026; Director: Antoine Fuqua; Stars: Jaafar Jackson, Nia Long, Colman Domingo

Antoine Fuqua’s Michael (2026) is such a wonderful, phenomenal film. It tells the story of the King of Pop and the greatest entertainer to ever live, Michael Jackson (played by Jaafar Jackson), and the challenges he faced as a man trying to break away from the tight grasp of his father, Joseph “Joe” Jackson (played by Colman Domingo).

Jackson’s career in music and entertainment allowed him to be called a king and to build a kingdom not only for himself, but for his family as well. What Michael and his family did is an example of community coming together to build a system in order to generate generational wealth. It started with Michael’s childhood in Gary, Indiana, where, amidst poverty and during the age of the Civil Rights Movement, he and his family began building a powerful legacy that would soon reach nations. As both a father and a manager, Joe Jackson was hard on his sons, and even harder on Michael. He wanted a better life for his children and pushed hard work and discipline with late night rehearsals in the living room of their tiny home and performances at different local events, while they were still kids in school. The extreme amount of discipline that Joe expected from his kids at such young ages and the physical abuse that Michael received at the hands of his father were harsh and inexcusable. Joe’s way of parenting was not ideal, his being abusive to his family was very wrong, and he was not perfect, but one good thing he did was pre-design a plan that gave his kids a lucrative career. I wonder if The Jackson 5 or Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, would have come into existence had Joe not been in the home at all?

If someone were to view Michael without having known anything about the legendary Michael Jackson, his background and story, they would easily identify the protagonist, Michael, the antagonist, Joe, and the conflict between the two. Fuqua does a great job of laying out the story of the battle between the son who fears his father for years of abuse, yet is victorious in the end, and the father who continues to control his son instead of allowing him to make decisions for his own life. This conflict also allows viewers to get more of an in-depth observation of Michael’s character. He starts off, fearful of making any moves that go against what Joe wants for him and his career, allowing others to fight his battles with Joe for him. During the course of the film and by the end, as Michael grows both as a man and within his creativity, he gains the courage to tell his father no and to take control of his music career.

In this film, I also saw Michael in a very positive light through his creativity, hard work within his craft and his acts of humanitarianism, which is different from how the media used to portray him in some instances when he was alive. I feel that because he was different, which most creatives are set apart from others, and a Black man who was very successful in the entertainment industry with much power and influence, the media painted him in a very negative light with the scandals, etc. out of jealousy and to target him and what he had accomplished. This is my personal opinion which some might debate.

Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s nephew, did an excellent job in acting like his late uncle. Jackson’s spitting image of Jackson was like Michael Jackson reincarnated. He got the voice, the clothing and the overall look, the dance moves and mannerisms spot on, especially during the scene where he performs Billie Jean (1983) on stage. His uncle would have been proud. The acting further led to understanding Michael’s true character in an intimate way. Throughout the film, there are scenes where Michael converses with his many pets, eats ice cream and watches movies with his mother, Katherine Jackson (played by Nia Long), and goes to his private studio at random times whenever he feels inspired to work on his music. I like this portrayal of Michael which is so human and shows how unique a person he was.

From a film technical aspect, the cinematography and choreography in this film are spectacular. The scenes where they are filming the Beat It (1983) and Thriller (1983) music videos are the absolute best and my favorite scenes in the entire movie. From the costumes and details to every coordinated dance move, each scene is a replica of the original music videos. Learning where Michael’s inspiration derived for each song was also interesting and told of how much he loved horror films and his desire to unify people through his music. And of course, music is the main attraction of the film. I was jamming in the theater, bobbing my head and tapping my feet to classics by Michael and by The Jackson 5.

The 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream has nothing on Michael. Hands down, Michael is a must-see and an excellent presentation of who Michael Jackson was as an artist and as a human being. Kudos to Fuqua for telling such a great story about one of the greatest to ever live who touched many generations around the world. After I saw the film, I left feeling very happy, motivated and inspired. You have to see this movie!

Rest in peace, Michael.

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