“Michael” Reviews Praise Jaafar Jackson's Performance as 'Perfection,' Call Movie 'By-the-Musical-Numbers Biopic'

Tommy McArdleTue, April 21, 2026 at 3:28 PM UTC

0

Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in MichaelCredit: LIONSGATE -

Movie critics are sharing their reviews of the new Michael Jackson biopic, Michael

Michael's nephew and Jermaine Jackson's son Jaafar, 29, stars as the King of Pop, while Colman Domingo portrays Michael's father Joseph, among an ensemble cast

Michael is in theaters April 24

Movie critics are offering their takes on the new Michael Jackson biopic.

As of Tuesday, April 21, the first 40 reviews compiled by Rotten Tomatoes indicated that 25% of critics gave Michael a positive review. Many critics praised leading actor Jaafar Jackson — the 29-year-old son of Jermaine Jackson — for his debut performance as his uncle in the movie and Colman Domingo's villainous performance as Michael's father Joseph, while negatively commenting on the movie's story and exclusion of more controversial details that dogged the King of Pop's life and legacy.

In a review that gave the movie three stars out of four, USA Today's Melissa Ruggieri praised Jaafar's performance while noting that the movie neglects to explore the more controversial aspects of the singer's life. "Jaafar may share his late uncle's megawatt smile, lithe frame and Bambi eyelashes," Ruggieri wrote. "But his liquid dance moves – highlighted as he teaches gang members the footwork in the 'Beat It' video - and soft-spoken cadence are studied to perfection. This is not about nepotism."

Deadline's Pete Hammond similarly praised both Jaafar and child actor Juliano Valdi, who portrays Jackson as a child with The Jackson 5, though he otherwise described the movie as a "by-the-musical-numbers biopic" that ends with a promise to make a potential second film about his life.

"Jaafar's casting might have seemed a bit too all in the family, but the fact that he doesn't do his own singing didn't bother me," Hammond wrote. "Because this guy channels Uncle Michael in uncanny ways, and simply sells this performance with all the right dance moves and sharp dramatic talent to make us believe Michael Jackson is once again with us."

Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in MichaelCredit: Glen Wilson/LIONSGATE

Elsewhere in the review, Hammond added, "Whether intentionally or just lucking into it, this Michael is the film fans will line up for more than once, a chance to see this genius up close and in IMAX like never before."

Advertisement

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave Michael two stars out of five and noted that while the movie displays some of Jackson's famous exotic pets, it ignores "the elephant in the living room" and described the movie as a long montage "assembling every music-movie cliche you can think of." While Bradshaw credited Jaafar with performing his uncle's dance moves and singing "with terrific, intuitive flair," he otherwise criticized Jaafar's performance and wrote that Colman Domingo was the movie's "one actor who is allowed to let rip" in his turn as Joseph Jackson. "Domingo is fierce and watchable in the pantomime role of the brothers' patriarch and tormentor, brutally exploiting his talented boys, gouging them for every cent," he wrote.

Variety's Owen Gleiberman wrote that he felt surprised at "what an engrossing middle-of-the-road biopic" he found in Michael, describing the movie as "basically an '80s-TV-movie version of the Michael Jackson story with sharper acting and snazzier photography."

"Does he ever nail the look, the voice, the electrostatic moves — and, more than that, the mixture of delicacy and steel that made Michael who he was," Gleiberman wrote of Jaafar's performance. "Jaafar isn't as beautiful a camera object as Michael (in the same way that Austin Butler wasn't as divine-looking as Elvis), but his slightly more earthbound cuteness allows him to play up Michael's vulnerability. And the movie, in its rather familiar way, conducts the electricity of Michael Jackson. It shows you how, like Brian Wilson or Little Richard, he was an artist of vision shaped by his wounds."

— sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in MichaelCredit: LIONSGATE

IndieWire's Kate Erbland gave the movie a C- review and criticized the movie while noting that Jaafar's performance is "admirable." "He's hamstrung by a bevy of outside forces: that he's playing his own uncle, that his family is involved with the film, that so much cannot be legally portrayed, and that John Logan's paper-thin script is unable to reach beyond any of those constraint," the review reads.

Michael is in theaters April 24.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”