Say what you will about Michael Jackson in his personal life (many have, many times over), but it's hard to dispute his talent. Months before his very untimely death- he was about to put on a ten-show last-time concert in London- this collection of footage from his rehearsals shows undeniably that the guy could sing and dance and entertain even when he was just in front of the other awestruck dancers in his group. He was a strange guy behind closed doors, perhaps more (or less) than we think we know, but the footage that's collected here by director Kenny Ortega is, at the least, proof that there was fire burning in him to put on a show wherever and whenever and to do it to his maximum potential.
With This is It, it's a concert film mostly, and sometimes a documentary on the making of some of the background footage that would have been used in the concert. Some of the latter stuff is interesting to watch, though a little unsettling (i.e. a 3D remake of Thriller is sort of pointless as it's impossible to top the Landis original, despite the addition of never-before-heard Vincent Price dialog), but it's the stuff on stage with MJ perfecting his performances, and of those around him, that intrigue the most. Director Ortega (of High School Musical films) is not quite as adept at mixing together the video footage with the on-stage rehearsal. It usually works best when we see a song performed either just in its entirety on stage with MJ and the other performers (i.e. Billie Jean) or with the majority from video footage (Smooth Criminal, one of the highlights of the film due to its update with MJ in a Bogart movie).
Truth be told, I didn't enjoy the entire film, but it's mostly based on the preference of songs - I could have done without some of the slower numbers or ballads like Human Nature, I'll Be There or Earth Song - and it's not to discredit the real appeal of This is It. We get to see what it's like behind the scenes (save, perhaps, for some of the much more intense squabbles or whatever that were likely cut), with MJ's perfectionism knowing no bounds. He could basically direct the show himself, we see, and that Ortega is mostly used for directing the background dancers and pyrotechnics. A lot of your favorites are here, and he performs them in rehearsal with the kind of energy some bands and groups or singers barely ever have the energy to muster up.
With This is It, it's a concert film mostly, and sometimes a documentary on the making of some of the background footage that would have been used in the concert. Some of the latter stuff is interesting to watch, though a little unsettling (i.e. a 3D remake of Thriller is sort of pointless as it's impossible to top the Landis original, despite the addition of never-before-heard Vincent Price dialog), but it's the stuff on stage with MJ perfecting his performances, and of those around him, that intrigue the most. Director Ortega (of High School Musical films) is not quite as adept at mixing together the video footage with the on-stage rehearsal. It usually works best when we see a song performed either just in its entirety on stage with MJ and the other performers (i.e. Billie Jean) or with the majority from video footage (Smooth Criminal, one of the highlights of the film due to its update with MJ in a Bogart movie).
Truth be told, I didn't enjoy the entire film, but it's mostly based on the preference of songs - I could have done without some of the slower numbers or ballads like Human Nature, I'll Be There or Earth Song - and it's not to discredit the real appeal of This is It. We get to see what it's like behind the scenes (save, perhaps, for some of the much more intense squabbles or whatever that were likely cut), with MJ's perfectionism knowing no bounds. He could basically direct the show himself, we see, and that Ortega is mostly used for directing the background dancers and pyrotechnics. A lot of your favorites are here, and he performs them in rehearsal with the kind of energy some bands and groups or singers barely ever have the energy to muster up.