Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)

This is officially it. The final "concert" of the late great King of Pop. Some people have frowned upon this movie, claiming it's all a hurried publicity stunt to rake in more money off the recent passing of Michael Jackson. And long before his death people claimed the This Is It concert would never become a realty, Jackson was too old, too feeble, hardly showed up to rehearsal and 50 consecutive shows would just be impossible for anyone to accomplish. Well, This Is It the film proves all that wrong.

If you're looking for some inner glimpse into the life of Michael Jackson you won't find it here. This is not the story of his life but a documentary of sorts on the creation of what would have been an awesome concert and possibly the big return for Michael Jackson into the world of music. All songs were specifically chosen by those who purchased tickets for the event and range from Jackson 5 classics to Speechless off his last official album release Invincible. My personal favorites are: The Way You Make Me Feel, Billie Jean, Beat It, The Earth Song, Thriller and Smooth Criminal.

Although this film doesn't provide you with the finished concert, you do receive a look into the the complete rehearsals of most of the songs and dance numbers Jackson does, it's as if your witnessing a sound check before the big show. The film also displays some of the sets and special effects that were planned for the concert as well as quite a few finished and decked out filmed sequences that were planned to be introductions for some of the big number such as Smooth Criminal and Thriller; Thrillers' is particularly good. Just by seeing all the special effects and props in various stages of completion you can grasp how big a production this concert would have been. Michael Jackson has never been one to skimp on anything, this definitely would have been one of the biggest concerts of all-time.

The high points of the film for me were of course the music, I have been a Michael Jackson fan ever since I first heard his music, so a behind the scenes look at Jackson's final concert preparations was a real treat. What makes This Is It better than some of Jackson's previously released concerts is the exemption of the screaming and crying fans. If you've watched some of his old concerts, which have been released on DVD, they sometimes show more of the crowd than they the actual concert, there's very little of that here. There is the occasional shots of Jackson's dancers off stage watching him perform and going a little too ape over him, but its not the insane almost idolatry worship some of the crazed fans excel to. Aside from the talent of Michael Jackson you'll get to witness some insane guitar playing by a 24 year old Australian chick named Orianthi (have no idea how you pronounce that), but she has a few one on one performances with Jackson on Beat It and a couple others, it's quite impressive.

Overall I really enjoyed This Is It, it could have been a little shorter, 2 hours I think is pretty lengthy for this type of film but I still thoroughly enjoyed almost every minute of it. Jackson sings, moves and performs better than any 50 year old I've ever seen, and he's got his say in every decision that goes into putting this concert together. This film should really put to rest the rumors that the This Is It concert was never going to happen, that Jackson was never physically capable of doing this and that he never put in enough rehearsal time to make this happen. In the end, This Is It is really worth seeing if your a hardcore Jackson fanatic or a casual fan of the guy's music like myself. Even if you don't consider yourself a Michael Jackson fan you might find this enjoyable because there's no denying the talent he had. There may not be a whole lot of re-watch-ability to this, but it's definitely worth seeing once just for the pure spectacle of what would have been, and the fact that this truly is it.

8/10