This is it, here I stand / I’m the light of the world, I feel grand / Got this love, I can feel / And I know, yes for sure, it is real — Michael Jackson, "This Is It"
The tears didn’t come until the very end.
For my friends and me as well as countless fans around the world, This Is It is a bittersweet movie to watch; we were the lucky ones who had scored tickets to what was going to be his last series of live concerts, his greatly anticipated comeback, and many (including myself) were supposed to have gone and come back to London by now to see Michael Jackson in concert.
Instead, we had to make do (sorry, Kenny Ortega) with a movie chronicling the rehearsals for This Is It. It doesn’t really bode well for a fan base still reeling from the shock of his passing, does it?
The pressure of pleasing Michael’s family as well as the fans, on top of living up to Michael Jackson’s renowned professionalism and perfectionism, makes it all the more amazing that Kenny Ortega first chose to rise to the challenge of working with Michael Jackson in the first place on his comeback concert, but also, since his passing, that he chose to organise the memorial as well as produce this movie. For as no memorial could possibly sum up the grief of millions of fans around the world, no movie could possibly share the full extent of the brilliance that was Michael Jackson working on translating his artistic vision into an on-stage reality.
But despite all this, the movie was – what’s the word I used over a hundred times during those 111 minutes? Oh yeah – it was AWESOME.
Through Kenny Ortega’s gift to the fans, Michael Jackson might have pushed another boundary after his passing. Because This Is It is the movie you would want to see of all your favourite artists and bands: the way the show came together; the vision; how it comes together, the various contributors; and the first sketches of the final show. It’s an intriguing, inspiring portrait of an artist at work as he develops the concepts behind his show, brings them to life and rehearses them, slowly coming up with the final product.
Article comments
1 - Chelsea Doyle
Personally I'm not a Michael Jackson fan, and I have no interest in the movie, but I'm glad that it worked so well for the fans!
2 - Sahar
Thank you Chelsea :) It definitely did, and I can't help but wonder what extras the DVD is going to pack. You can bet that a review will be written for BC :)
3 - Aricca Says
This review is great! You got it and hit it right on the head! I feel the same way about the movie. I think fans really get a feel for whole other side of MJ that has never been shown before. Check out my review as well and tell me what you think because we touch on similar points but I included some additional things that I got from the movie. It's funny because I really thought this movie was just going to be MJ rehearsing but I was blown away by what I actually got to experience!
Fan or no fan this movie is amazing!
4 - Sahar
Aricca, I'm glad that I'm not the only fan who isn't disappointed. I mean come on - this is MJ, we are going to ALWAYS be disappointed because there is always something more we would have wanted to know and see :P Perhaps the only thing that would satisfy us is meeting the guy. I guess it will have to wait until we pass on to the other world, too ;)
I'm glad you like my review!