“Michael” Is Not a Biopic. It’s Brand Management.

by Chris Peterson

The reviews for Michael are in, and so far, they are not exactly moonwalking toward praise. It’s currently sitting at 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics, even ones who liked the movie, have described it as shallow, sanitized, and more interested in recreating iconic moments than actually examining the man behind them. 

Todd Jorgenson of Cinemalogue said, “This sanitized biopic of the global pop-music superstar is mostly an exercise in image rehabilitation, basking so heavily in fan service and revisionist nostalgia that it lacks any meaningful insight or fresh perspective.”

Russ Simmons of KKFI said, “If you’re looking for an in-depth, warts-and-all biopic about the King of Pop, keep looking.”

Honestly, this should surprise absolutely no one.

There was probably no clean, easy, controversy-free way to make a Michael Jackson biopic in 2026. His legacy is too enormous, too complicated, and too debatable for any movie about him to glide into theaters as just another glossy music biopic with a few wigs, a few recreated music videos, and a triumphant final freeze-frame.

And yet, from what has been reported about Michael, it seems that this movie is trying very hard to become exactly that.

The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson as his uncle, reportedly focuses on Jackson’s rise to fame and ends around the 1988 Bad tour, years before allegations of child sexual abuse became part of the public story. Reports have also said that the movie underwent major changes after legal issues involving the 1993 Jordan Chandler settlement, with significant reshoots and material removed in connection with those later allegations. 

So basically, we are getting Michael Jackson: The Inspirational Poster.

And I’m sorry, but that is not a biopic. That is brand management with a moonwalk.

I’m not demanding that every movie about a famous artist become a courtroom drama. No one is asking for a three-hour deposition with musical numbers. But when you are making a film about one of the most famous, scrutinized, and complicated entertainers of the 20th century, stopping the story right before the part that makes the story difficult is an escape hatch.

And frankly, even Michael Jackson’s remaining fans should be insulted by that.

His fans have spent decades arguing that he was misunderstood and mistreated. Fine. Then make the movie that actually wrestles with that. But apparently, that is too messy.

So instead, we get the rise. The Jackson 5. The abusive father. The solo breakthrough. The “Thriller” iconography. The moonwalk. The screaming fans. The Bad tour. Curtains down before things get legally inconvenient.

How brave.

This is the same exhausting problem we keep seeing with estate-approved entertainment. The goal is not to understand the artist. The goal is to preserve the asset. And when the estate has control of the final product, the result often  becomes a museum gift shop with better cinematography.

There will be audiences who love it. People will clap when the moonwalk happens because people always clap when the moonwalk happens. Nostalgia is one hell of a lighting designer.

But a biopic about Michael Jackson that ends before the full weight of Michael Jackson’s life arrives is  not even respectful to him as an artist.

It is a victory lap disguised as a biography. And if that is all this movie wants to be, fine. But let’s stop pretending it is the story of Michael Jackson.

It is the story everyone involved felt safest selling to keep the dollars flowing to the estate, as good brand management does.