The Michael Jackson we see here is not a self-styled Messiah or a tabloid oddity. He is, instead, what he always was underneath it all: a talented musician, a brilliant dancer, and one of the most gifted entertainers of his time.
This Is It
Like You've Never Seen Him Before
2009 · 1h 51m · PG
Documentary, Music
Directed by
Kenny Ortega
Overview
A compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of Michael Jackson as he prepared for his series of sold-out shows in London.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
It's purpose isn't to reinvent Jackson, but to recapture some of the creative magic that made the kid from Indiana a worldwide musical ambassador.
It's an expertly packaged -- brilliantly packaged, considering how quickly the job was done -- phantasmagoria that emphasizes, quite convincingly, the energy that Michael could still draw from whatever was fueling his wraith-thin body.
Michael Jackson's perfectionism fails him in This Is It, and we're all the better for it.
Perhaps the best way to approach it -- at least for those who are not total Jackson fans -- is to view it as an often-fascinating document on how the sausage (or magic, if you will) is made for a mega-concert tour.
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