Michael (2026)

Michael plays like a lavish tribute concert with a biopic bolted to the side. Every big moment you already know gets recreated with loving precision, and very little in between tells you who the guy was once the music stopped. The brothers blur together, the songwriting gets skimmed, and most of the drama arrives as business meetings. But Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s nephew, in his first film, is uncanny. He has the voice, the delicacy and the moves, and his Billie Jean at Motown 25 is the scene you’ll replay in your head on the way out. The push to get MTV to finally play a Black artist’s videos, with Mike Myers as record boss Walter Yetnikoff, is the sharpest stretch of story here. Colman Domingo plays Joseph, the father who built the family band. It runs 127 minutes and made $1.03 billion worldwide. A 5.6 because the performance is electric and the script just hums along. $587.11 says you try the moonwalk on your kitchen floor tonight and slide straight into the fridge.

What works: Jaafar Jackson nails the voice, the moves and the stage presence, and the Motown 25 recreation is a genuine thrill.

What doesn’t: The script hops from famous moment to famous moment without ever digging into the man, and his brothers barely register as people.

Who it’s for: Fans who want to see the big performances on a huge screen with great sound, and don’t need much story between them.