Michael Jackson’s Recent Biopic Falls Short in Critics’ Eyes 

Posted on by
Michael Jackson Biopic Cover
Michael Jackson Biopic Released April 24th 2026

Following the April 24 release of Michael, the biopic film about singer Michael Jackson, critics have torn the movie down in the media. 

The concept for the film was to delve into the King of Pop’s early life. However, online critics have reached a consensus that the biopic played more like a greatest hits album. It could have benefited from more insight into Jackson’s actual life, according to Rotten Tomatoes. 

Keeping It In The (Jackson) Family

Michael Jackson’s own nephew, Jafaar Jackson, portrayed him in the biopic. Jafaar’s father, Jermaine Jackson, is one of Michael’s older brothers. According to an article in People Magazine, Jaafar’s mother had previously dated the youngest Jackson brother and had two children with him before marrying Jermaine. Jafaar received good reviews from critics for his acting in this role, although the praise for Michael ended there. 

“Sorry media, u don’t get to control the narrative anymore of who Michael Jackson truly was,” said the singer’s nephew Taj in a post on X. “The public gets to watch this movie, they will decide for themselves. And you can’t handle that.”

But it seems that if the public aligns with what critics are saying, the outlook isn’t good for Jackson’s narrative. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is much higher than the critics’ score, however.

Critics have dubbed Michael a shoddy attempt to redeem Jackson’s image after the 2019 release of Leaving Neverland, a documentary that aired allegations against the singer. The documentary features the stories of two men who came forward about the childhood abuse they endured from Jackson. 

First Week Impressions of the Film

Shortly after the release, the director of Leaving Neverland criticized director Antoine Fuqua at an interview with Variety. In the interview, Dan Reed talks about Jackson’s only portrayal of children in the film being in a positive light. 

“That made me feel really icky,” Reed said. “It suggests that Jackson’s engagement with children was entirely benign and motivated by nothing but philanthropy.”

A scathing review by Adam Nayman in The Ringer called Fuqua “blissfully unconcerned with nuance or subtlety.” The review stated that it appeared the filmmakers were relying on Jackson’s popularity to create positive buzz. Nayman wrote that they wanted his catchy songs and famed image to gloss over the discrepancies that left viewers unsatisfied. 

“It’s a really (really) bad movie, a game of ‘Remember the Time’ with a selective memory,” Nayman wrote. “A biopic so corny and clichéd that it ought to look at itself in the mirror and ask itself to change its ways.”

The Ringer review criticized the film’s juxtaposition of Jackson’s alleged history with his flashy success in the nightlife scene. The reason for the Jackson Five’s popularity was never in question- they were talented. But the media has called Michael Jackson’s morals into question many times, and the movie failed to acknowledge that. 

Spencer Kornhaber wrote a review in The Atlantic simply headlined ‘It’s Bad.’ The review proceeded to call Michael a ‘warped and childish take’ on Jackson’s life. It went on to point out how creepy the CGI adaptation of Jackson’s pet chimp Bubbles was. 

Michael was reportedly budgeted at nearly $200 million, and with one of Jackson’s own family members cast, the expectation was for the biopic to take the box office by storm.