Singer Michael Jackson's death in 2009 was indeed tragic, however, it still didn't magically absolve all the controversy & weirdness surrounding him. Nor does it, excuse him, for how awful, nonsensical this movie is. Rather than featuring one continuous narrative, the film is a collection of distorted fast cutting random theme short vignettes about Michael Jackson; with several of them being long-form music videos from Jackson's Bad album. Because of this choice in direction, I have to question, the people who made this movie's ability as filmmakers. This movie is so confusing and nearly unwatchable. It's an acid trip movie that's easier to hear, than see. I really don't get, what happening! One minute, the film has Michael Jackson trying to escape from grossest stop motion paparazzi in a rabbit mascot costume, the next minute, it has him, turning into a robot spaceship battling a drug-dealer named Frankie Lideo AKA Mr. Big, played by Joe Pesci. For a movie that has anti-drug message, it really does felt like this film was made by people on drugs. Also, this movie doesn't really doesn't make Jackson, look good. He looks like a lunatic for the most part, who has no clue, what's he talking about. Lots of contradictions. Some good examples is how he sings about telling people to leave him alone; only for later, to sing about having people be together and work out in harmony. Even, his famous songs don't add up. I like how he's singing about world peace in a live performance of "Man in the Mirror" at Wembley Stadium; while featuring a montage of clips of pacifist leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Jesus Christ, and other historical figures; only to be singing later, about finding a bloodstained carpet and an unconscious body with 'Smooth Criminal', while shooting off, a tommy gun at the villains. Don't get me wrong, I like both songs, and music videos, but it give off, mixed messages for the audience, especially the children that look up to him. In my opinion, why couldn't this film, just establish that we're just watching a bunch of new music videos. It would have been stronger and more memorable. Why did we need, all those confusing mucho jumbo retrospective sequences!? It just shows the same old crap that would show up in later segments, like the Claymation, the transformers, and Gilliam's style moving cutouts from antique photographs. Plus, the songs while covering the early years from the Jackson 5 was nice to hear, again; felt wasn't needed. After all, this movie was market to promote Jackson's newest album at the time, 'Bad'. So, why didn't they use more songs from the album like "Liberian Girl' or 'Another Part of Me', than old Jackson 5 hits!? Those songs rarely got feature in any music video. Another thing, that was bizarre about 'Moonwalker', was the kidz bop version of 'Bad' with Brandon Quintin Adams. I get that, it's a parody, but the comedy seem oddly place, seeing how it came out after the retrospective sequences. Are we the audience, supposedly to find Michael Jackson's career, as a joke!? Were, we supposed to laugh on how bad, the music video 'bad' was!? I don't get it. I thought, they wanted us to buy that album! It's seem so out of the blue. Honestly, if I can be truthful. The only good thing to come out of this movie, was, the 'Smooth Criminal' sequence that was influence by the movie, 1953's 'The Band Wagon'. A great homage to the works of Fred Astaire, even if it was kinda ruin by the weird interlude silence moaning interpretive dance in the middle. It looks like everybody at Club 30's, was having a giant stroke. Nevertheless, at least, it was better than the 'Alien Ant Farm' version. I don't see Dryden Mitchell trying to do anti-gravity lean, anywhere in that music video. Anyways, every other sequence in 'Moonwalker' seem pretty much below standards, because how much, annoying the vacuum of praise for Michael Jackson, is. We get it, he's incredibly talent, but he's not Jesus. He was heavily flawed human being with a man child complex. Please stop acting like he is the Messiah; and stop rubbing it, in our faces that he's better than us, when he clearly, wasn't. For a man, that mocks the media for unnecessarily sensationalized his life; he does help feed that BS that the world circle around him. Because of this, I really couldn't stand watching this strange ego trip of a movie. Overall: Michael Jackson is a smooth criminal, but his movie was nowhere near that. It was rough.
Review of Moonwalker
