Review: This Is It

If you’re looking for a hard-hitting documentary about the late Michael Jackson, this isn't it.

The tone of This Is It, the much-anticipated film about Jackson’s preparations for his ill-fated 50-concert stint at London's O2 Arena, is established right off the top, when we see auditioning dancers weep at the very thought of sharing a stage with the self-proclaimed King of Pop.

The tone of the film is established right off the top, when we see auditioning dancers weep at the very thought of sharing a stage with Michael Jackson.

Director Kenny Ortega clearly wants to reinforce Jackson’s regal status. As a friend and creative colleague, he obviously had no interest in exploring the "Wacko Jacko" side of the equation — the child abuse allegations, the cosmetic surgery and the general weirdness that essentially forced the singer into an extended exile in Dubai. And if there were any signs of erratic behaviour or imminent physical collapse during this spring’s rehearsals, they’ve been left on the cutting room floor.

This is a concert film of the show Jackson never gave, edited together from a variety of practice sessions. Ortega focuses almost entirely on MJ the performer, who was doing everything he could to reclaim his throne. This was going to be an incredible pop spectacle, featuring a 3-D film reinterpretation of the iconic Thriller video, gigantic walls of fire and hydraulic contraptions that had the dancers popping up from the stage floor like pieces of toast. It looks like no expense was being spared — at one point, a costume designer claims he worked with scientists in the Netherlands to create a high-tech flashing light effect for Jackson’s Billie Jean outfit. Hey, understatement was never Jacko’s thing.

At 50, the consummate song-and-dance man still oozed charisma; his ultra-thin body seemed hard-wired to the beats. Although Jackson was in rehearsal mode and intended to save his voice for the actual concerts, the film features spirited versions of Human Nature and I Just Can’t Stop Loving You. When he launches into those patented moves from the Beat It and Thriller videos, you almost believe that the guy with the Peter Pan fixation had turned back the clock.

From the evidence presented here, it doesn’t appear as though the pressure was getting to him. Jackson is unfailingly polite to his colleagues, even when there's a sizable technical screw-up during a run-through of his early Motown hit I Want You Back.

This Is It features brief interviews with dancers, choreographers, band members and pyrotechnic experts, who all testify to how "cool" and "normal" the musician is. But there's no one-on-one with the man himself. Was Jackson terrified about returning to the spotlight? And after being away for more than a decade, why on earth did he choose to perform an unprecedented 50 dates in one venue? Those questions aren't asked, so Jackson took the answers to the grave. He says very little in this film, and when he does speak, it’s always about music, love or the environment. Talking to a keyboard player about a slinky intro to The Way You Make Me Feel, Jackson advises him to "let it simmer — you gotta let it bathe in the moonlight." If only he’d been as forthcoming about his career strategy.

Drawing from 120 hours of available material, Ortega has created a sleek tribute to his friend. But it's a profoundly strange viewing experience, mainly because it arose from bizarre circumstances. The footage was never intended to serve as the core content of a feature film; it was probably destined for the land of DVD extras on some future concert movie. But then Jackson died. A few weeks after his death, Sony Pictures bid $60 million US for the film rights, and what was originally intended as background material came to the foreground with alarming speed: This Is It arrives in theatres a mere four months after his passing.

It’s fascinating to see the musical genius at work, but also easy to become distracted, wondering what was happening when the cameras weren't rolling — the sleepless nights, the medication. You can’t watch This Is It without the awareness that you’re witnessing the final days of Michael Jackson. For some audiences, that will be the film's ghoulish appeal. It doesn’t help that Jackson’s rehearsal hall in the film — L.A.'s Staples Center — would be the site of his all-star memorial tribute only a few weeks later.

No matter how confident Jackson seems here, everyone knows how this story ends: Peter Pan never does grow up.

This Is It opens on Oct. 28.

Greig Dymond writes about the arts for CBC News.