Title: Michael Jackson: This Is It
Directed: Kenny Ortega
Starring: Michael Jackson, Nick Bass, Jonathan Moffett, Tommy Organ
Released: February 2010
Running: 111 minutes
Everyone loved Michael Jackson didn’t they? Well I didn’t personally, but it’s apparent that millions of people did. I didn’t actually hear about his death until at least 48 hours after the event. And the people telling me were shocked that I didn’t know. But then who wants to listen to the news these days? Miserable. Never anything positive is there?
He was certainly quite a showman. A real character on stage… and of course off. Which obviously affected his popularity somewhat in recent years. Strange friends and an even stranger lifestyle often put him at the front of our minds and here, just months after his death, is a film to remind us, if we had forgotten. But despite his weird antics, strange baby names, strange marriage, court cases, almost-dropping-baby-incidents and other allegations against him, the fact that Jackson managed to remain at the top of the charts for so many years, even after his death, is a clear testimony to his back catalogue of music, his live performances and his ability to engender so much love from his legion of fans the world over.
There’s a lot of excellent live footage here for fans to enjoy as well as interviews and outtakes. And to be fair, even for the casual fans, or even someone who didn’t much care for Jackson, this is an enjoyable movie, with great songs, fantastic performances, and interesting insights into Jackson’s life at the top.
This Is It also looks great on blu-ray. Even the concert footage, that you might expect to be of a lesser quality, is still very decent. Colours are strong and bright and the sound quality also stands out as well.
This Is It is a wonderful tribute to Jackson that fans will eagerly watch again and again.
