The Gist
This film allows us to watch what was originally intended for MJ’s personal collection – footage of his comeback concert rehearsals.
What Do I Think?
Indeed it is a rare chance to watch any singer’s concert rehearsal made for the cinema screens. After I had finished viewing the film, I realized two things: if the comeback tour materialized, it would have been the MOST successful comeback ever; and that Michael was at the peak of his health, looking better than ever and not a single hint of his death.
The list of songs opens with “Wanna Be Startin’ Something’”, the song that carried the necessary beats to kick-start the show. Myself being a fan of his songs, I had thought that Michael was lip-synching to the original recording of the song and dancing along. When the song abruptly stopped, it signified that Michael’s voice never really changed. And that the band was recreating the song almost exactly how it was recorded.
Everyone whom worked with Michael had to be a fan of his. The dancers were auditioned in American Idol style which meant the choreography would consist of the best from the US and all around the world.
Being the success that he is, it was humbling to see that Michael was quite un-diva-like. He had much respect for everyone as everyone has enormous amounts of respect for him. Nevertheless, we still get to catch glimpses of him subtly projecting his dissatisfaction and anger, only for Kenny Ortega to arrive at the precise moment of pacifying at almost all times.
Ortega is the creative director but it was Michael at the helm of all things. He definitely ensured his input is associated with every single aspect of the concert. That sort of genius that you see would totally define the success of his would-be comeback. Every song that we get to see onscreen always had something new and exciting to offer, be it from the smooth jazzy opening of “The Way You Make Me Feel”, newly-shot opening scene for “Smooth Criminal” and the recreating of the “Thriller” ghosts. I literally forgot to breathe when many of the songs were sung, in anticipation of the fresh creative surprises that would hit me.
All of the songs, except “Billie Jean” were never completely sung in one take. Each song would have been pieced together from various incomplete recorded shootings. It was clear that Michael was only giving his 60-70% in the vocals to preserve them for the O2 gigs.
It’s a great thing that Michael was not too conscious about his facial appearances as he did not resort to covering his lips whenever he was singing. His singing was also one of the highlights as it was highly charismatic and it was all it needed to carry and characterize the show.
The film closed with the expected song “Man in the Mirror” and what I felt I had just watched was more than just rehearsals. It was a musical and cinematic event of the decade. When the credits rolled, the entire cinema was in applause. That coming from an ultra conservative town in Malaysia, was definitely something.
This is No Joke: Michael singing “Human Nature”. Soulful as ever with not only his vocals doing the expressions; his entire body was too.
This is A Joke: The opening part saw auditions of hundreds of female dancers dancing in sync to “Smooth Criminal”. During the rehearsals, I could hardly spot a female dancer.
Rating: 10/10
Tags: Kenny Ortega, Michael Jackson
