Review: Michael Jackson's 'This is It' - He Still Had It

As Michael Jackson sings the final notes of “Man in the Mirror” and the lights come up in the theater, you can’t help but feel a tinge of sadness that Jackson didn’t get the comeback he so desperately wanted. If the rehearsal footage shot in the documentary This is It is any indication, he would have gotten it.

Kenny Ortega, director of Jackson’s series of comeback concerts that were to be held at London’s O2 Arena and director of this movie, presents a rare display of Jackson as an artist and a human being. The prologue at the beginning of the film tells us that the footage was “captured by a few cameras” and was meant for Jackson’s “personal library.” However, the cameras were high-definition and the music in full stereo. The result is an unexpected and intimate glimpse into an extraordinary entertainer and artist.

Ever the perfectionist, Jackson was in complete control of all aspects of his show. He briefly chided his band members when they didn’t begin the intro to “The Way You Make Me Feel” at the exact moment when he wanted it and told them to “let it simmer.” He oversaw the editing process of his dazzling special effects and video shots while sucking on a lollipop and inputting his thoughts.

The movie opens with the young dancers selected for the concerts telling what an honor it is to dance for Jackson and how they grew up with his music. Then cut to Jackson onstage singing “Wanna Be Starting Somethin” and dancing his signature moves. It is here, in these opening scenes, that Jackson quickly dispels the rumors that he would have too weak to tour. After watching Jackson dance nonstop with his young dancers, synchronizing their every move and in seemingly good physical condition, the circumstances of his death seem almost unbelievable.

Jackson wanted this show to be the songs “the fans want to hear.” He performs “Black or White,” “Billie Jean,” a stirring version of the duet song “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” with backup singer Judith Hill for which he admonishes himself afterwards, claiming he needs “to save his voice,” and an emotional, almost a cappella version of “Human Nature.” He even sings from the Jackson 5 catalog including “I Want You Back” and a haunting version of “I’ll Be There,” after which he tells his brothers and Joe and Katherine “I love you.” The special effects during his show were to be grand. Jackson is inserted into a scene with Rita Hayworth in Gilda for the introductory number to Smooth Criminal. His ten backup dancers are turned into thousands of soldiers stretching into infinity for “They Don’t Care About Us” via green screen magic. 3-D footage was shot of zombies and ghouls crawling in a graveyard for “Thriller.”

Jackson’s soft-spoken, gentle nature is on display throughout the film. There is no evidence of any ego on his part. He tells his dancers and band members “we are a family” and that this concert’s mission is to bring love into the world. He doesn’t raise his voice or get angry. He works alongside Ortega and his crew to get just the right move, note or effect.

Ortega never goes into the territory of Jackson’s death. He leaves the footage as it simply is—a rare view of one of the greatest entertainers on Earth rehearsing his best-loved hits in hopes of an incredible comeback that would lay to rest all the rumors and innuendos surrounding his life. After watching this film, you have no doubt he could have done it. Jackson wanted his concert to end with “Man in the Mirror.” As he sings the last words of the song, “I’m gonna make a change,” you are struck at once at how much Jackson and his music did change us and how sad it is to realize he didn’t get the chance while he was alive to remind us of what a remarkable performer he is on stage. For all his weirdness and frailties and rumors surrounding his personal life, when Jackson is on stage, he is transformed into a different person. And, oh yes, he still had “it."