Mocked and misunderstood in life, deified in death - is it any wonder that Michael Jackson appears in the form of a crucifix on the posters for his new film, "This Is It"?
Understandably, this comparison of JC and MJ may be unsettling or odd, but aside from the fact that Jackson led a life that was often unsettling and odd to many, that is where that analogy breaks down.

Michael Jackson, the late, self-proclaimed "king of pop", died (was killed?) in late June of this year, and he isn't coming back. This film, capably crafted out of performance rehearsal footage that was never intended for prime time (much less movie screens), is as close as this king is getting to resurrection. But, for those like myself who grew up listening to "Thriller" and "Bad", this is will have to suffice. One thing immediately evident with "This Is It" is the major event status with which Sony has marketed it. Reportedly having paid upwards of $50 million for the raw footage, this should come as no surprise.
"Limited engagement - only in theaters for two weeks!" I suppose the fact that it appears to be working perfectly for them should also come as no surprise - the public has had an insatiable appetite for all things Michael the likes of which the world hasn't seen since the mid-1980s. Upon arriving to the late screening the night before it opened, I was asked if I would like to purchase a "This Is It" crucified MJ t-shirt for $15. During the film, there was audience applause after every song.
Whether it's genuine admiration or morbid curiosity that will lure new and not-so-new fans to theaters, "This Is It" stands to do pretty well, considering the type of documentary it is.

The movie has more in common technically with other music-oriented archival footage presentations such as "Imagine: John Lennon" than legitimate concert films such as "The Last Waltz" or "Stop Making Sense". (All three are good company, nonetheless.) Like it or not, whatever you may think of Michael Jackson, this film is something fairly unique, and must be reckoned with. The footage in play spans from mid April of 2009 to just days before Jackson died.
Wisely, the death itself is not a part of this film, as the focus is very narrowly kept on the rehearsal process for what was to be the performer's Big Comeback - a series of greatest hits concerts in London, also titled "This Is It". Ultimately, the film can be taken a couple of ways. On one hand, it's the kind of artistic vindication that Jackson let elude him for the last fifteen years of his life, depicting the performer in surprisingly great form, and very much in command. On the other hand, the film is essentially an elaborate two-hour preview for an amazing concert you'll never see. But, as everyone knows, in Michael Jackson's world, only one hand wears the glove, so it's up to the viewer to decide whether this is more of an emotional portrait of a great artist in his last days, or an entertainment-world blue-balling. The live show was to be tremendously elaborate - a multi-media blast that not only includes top-tier dancing and singing, but a huge, ever-changing stage, and some high-end, visual effects-heavy original film footage.

Early on in the film, it is mentioned that everything in Jackson's performance world is BIG and overstated, which certainly bears true of the stage aesthetics glimpsed here. It's the kind of show that generally couldn't happen in the world of rock n' roll (my own preferred musical stomping ground these days) outside of maybe Alice Cooper at his peak, KISS, or 1970s glam rock. But this is different - spectacle on top of spectacle, far more Vegas than Van Halen. Which is not to say that the music doesn't rock when it needs to. Jackson had been known to bring in top rock guitar players for his albums, including Eddie Van Halen and Slash. Here, the blonde female guitarist Orianthi absolutely shreds through the material - that is, until it's time for the show to change gears to Heal The World mode. Then it's goodbye Orianthi, hello rain forest (complete with a video of an adorable little girl in a green utopia confronting the fiery engines of destruction). Jackson's pleas to "let love rule" and "heal the world" may sound like simplistic platitudes to the rest of us, but for him, having been sheltered and handled for most of his life, one cannot escape the notion that he actually, whole-heartedly believes this stuff. And I'm not going to take that away from him, whether he's dead or alive.

The first true show-stopper comes about a third of the way into the film, as we're presented a fun and reckless version of "Smooth Criminal", in which Jackson has been digitally inserted into old black & white Hollywood films like "Gilda", and ends up pursued by Humphrey Bogart and a crew of tommy gun carrying thugs. (This film footage would've been shown on a giant screen on the stage - here, it is integrated into the rehearsal footage.) For me, this was the all-around highlight. I grew up a child of the eighties, and like so many others, I was fascinated with this music and the videos that went with it. As a matter of fact, "Thriller" has the distinction of being the first album I ever bought with my own money.
So you can imagine my minor disappointment when the new presentation of "Thriller" wound up being nothing but a hokey excursion into the 3-D craze. We see them shooting a line-up of rubber-headed ghouls tossing things and jumping at a 3-D camera, but we don't get to experience the 3-D. How many levels of lame is that? Also, "Beat It" doesn't quite live up to its iconic status within this film. Thankfully, "Billie Jean" fares well in its simplicity here, but all the numbers suffer from the fact that Michael, as he reminds us many times, is saving his voice for the (ill-fated) real thing.

For most of the civilized world, prior to his untimely death Michael Jackson was first and foremost thought of as a weirdo man-child, most likely guilty of pedophilia. Once he died, the winds changed dramatically, as the pedophilia thing all but vanished, replaced with the notion of Jackson the Tragic Celebrity; the Genius Performer.
Throughout all this, he continued to be perceived as a frail person, all but confirmed by the nature of his demise. (I recall him cancelling concerts right and left in the late 1980s, due to illness.) If this film does one thing for the long haul, it will be the undoing of this sickly notion. Months, weeks, days before his death, he's seen here as competent, agile, and sharp. He is not being handled - everyone, including (maybe especially) show director (also this film's director) Kenny Ortega do all they can to appease him. Clearly, Jackson is the driving force. Granted, if he did his trademark moonwalk in this film, I missed it; but his dancing (and the dancers he surrounds himself with) is absolutely top tier - even at age fifty.

Is this an instant classic? No, not in my opinion. As a musical documentary for the ages, it has a few strikes against it. The footage is often too rough, not uniform, and not well composed or shot. (Early on, we are told that this footage was originally intended for Jackson's private archives.) The editors did a very respectable job with it, all things considered, and the film is enjoyable all the way through. But it can never compensate for the fact that it is, after all, only rehearsal. Now, if this show would've happened, and was then competently filmed on a night when everyone was delivering their all, "This Is It", may've had a shot at approaching that pantheon of "Stop Making Sense" and "The Last Waltz". (And it is entirely possible that this series of live shows would've brought Jackson back to cultural respectability in his lifetime.)
As it is, it's not so much "This Is It!", as "Well, this is it."

Nostalgia will be experienced, and those new to the bandwagon may more fully grasp what they've been getting spoon-fed lately, but on the whole, "This Is It" is what it is: An above-average documentary about a unique performer, more admired in death than in life. But the second coming, it is not.

- Jim Tudor