20 Awesome Moments From TERRIBLE Recent Movies
14. Rehearsing "Beat It" - Michael
Michael is every bit the sanitised product you'd expect from just about any estate-endorsed musical biopic - especially one coming from a figure as controversial as the "King of Pop."
This is a puzzlingly benign, forgettable piece of work save for an undeniably strong performance from Jaafar Jackson as his late uncle.
The best moments in the film are those that focus on Jackson's creative process, the highlight of which is the terrific sequence showcasing him workshopping the dance moves for his iconic "Beat It" music video with members of the Bloods and Crips gangs.
Though there must've been the obvious temptation to go big and melodramatic with this scene, it's actually relatively quiet and straight-forward, while nevertheless ably dramatisating a key piece of one of the most beloved music videos of all time.
It's just a shame that, despite this and Jaafar Jackson's committed central performance. this is still an artistically and spiritually ugly film more often than not.