It is hard to write a review for something so bare-bones and incomplete as "This Is It". It's not really a concert movie, the kind that drops the viewer into the audience, experiencing the big show better than any ticket holder ever could.
No, this simple handicam special is more like a full-length "bonus feature" on a real Jackson DVD. It's Michael Jackson at half-speed, so as not to blow out his vocal chords or wear his body down for the "real" shows - 50 potentially stamina-sapping performances planned for London's 02 Arena.
It's ghoulish to watch a clearly not-young Jackson: inspired at times, sometimes going through the motions, reclaiming past hits, old dance moves - and not think about what is really happening in his life, and what is just about to.
The other reaction is that the film seems shamelessly calculated. The only reason this footage exists is to allow technical crews and talent viewing backstage see where the show needed tightening or improvement. Hastily chopped-in reminiscences repackaged and padded out as a feature film, THIS IS IT smacks of quick-buck opportunism, cold and morbid.
Admittedly, the show looked like it would have been a wowzer, and there's no doubt that Jackson had talent to burn. You do see very bright flashes of it from time to time in several dialed-up performances in THIS IS IT.
Most reports paint Jackson as a perfectionist about his performance (you even see it in this film where he dressed-down a crewmember), and through that lens, I think this film would certainly not have seen the light of day if it had been allowed to pass through Jackson's hyperultra-managed image factory.
Despite it's inconsequential nature, as a last-chance to see him work, the picture may offer fans an emotional resonance not shared by this reviewer - and even some closure from his untimely death.
For viewers interested in reliving the excitement and stage presence that thrilled audiences around the world for four decades, this film is decidedly not it.
No, this simple handicam special is more like a full-length "bonus feature" on a real Jackson DVD. It's Michael Jackson at half-speed, so as not to blow out his vocal chords or wear his body down for the "real" shows - 50 potentially stamina-sapping performances planned for London's 02 Arena.
It's ghoulish to watch a clearly not-young Jackson: inspired at times, sometimes going through the motions, reclaiming past hits, old dance moves - and not think about what is really happening in his life, and what is just about to.
The other reaction is that the film seems shamelessly calculated. The only reason this footage exists is to allow technical crews and talent viewing backstage see where the show needed tightening or improvement. Hastily chopped-in reminiscences repackaged and padded out as a feature film, THIS IS IT smacks of quick-buck opportunism, cold and morbid.
Admittedly, the show looked like it would have been a wowzer, and there's no doubt that Jackson had talent to burn. You do see very bright flashes of it from time to time in several dialed-up performances in THIS IS IT.
Most reports paint Jackson as a perfectionist about his performance (you even see it in this film where he dressed-down a crewmember), and through that lens, I think this film would certainly not have seen the light of day if it had been allowed to pass through Jackson's hyperultra-managed image factory.
Despite it's inconsequential nature, as a last-chance to see him work, the picture may offer fans an emotional resonance not shared by this reviewer - and even some closure from his untimely death.
For viewers interested in reliving the excitement and stage presence that thrilled audiences around the world for four decades, this film is decidedly not it.