"This Is It's" good and bad reveiw

November 4, 11:46 AMAtlanta Movie ExaminerAntonio Gilbert

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For a project that was originally intended for Michael Jackson’s personal library, has become an iconic piece of history shared with the world. Since the theatrical release of the concert documentary, Hollywood Insider announced that “This Is It raised its worldwide total to a massive $101 million that easily breaks the record for a concert doc.” With such booming success, Sony Pictures have elected to extend the intended two-week venture of the concert documentary until Thanksgiving.

This Is It Trailer

The Positive Outlook Of The Film:
The film is a personal look into Jackson’s musical process and joy in preparation for his return to the stage. Through this film, audiences can gain a greater respect of his convictions for perfection and depth of care that his fans can be nourished through this new vision. As explained by the musical director, Michael Bearden, “It was easy to work with Michael Jackson since he knows all the tempos and keys and how to improve them as needed.” With so much creative minds flourishing in one area, new song arrangements and 3-D films were created as an extension of Jackson for this concert. Performance rehearsals for “This is it” included the songs “Be Starting Something," "Jam," "They Don’t Really Care About Us," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "I’ll Be There," "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Human Nature," "I just can't stop loving you," and surprisingly three “Jackson 5” songs. A 3-D film was also included for "Thriller" and another sequence was cunningly cut between a black and white film and Jackson evading “Smooth Criminals."

The Not-So Positive Outlook Of The Film.
While many great things can be said about Michael Jackson and the documentary, there hasn’t yet been any report on a particular issue within the film that can be considered quite uncomfortable. Perhaps most columnists prefer not to mention this issue, in fear that it may dishonor the memory of Jackson. But I believe that if there were anything to fear within discussions about this issue, then Sony Pictures would not have allowed these uncomfortable moments to be shown in the documentary. They have instead elected to reveal some of these moments in the film with an effort to be honest about Michael Jackson’s process that essentially highlights the good that came out of this uncomfortable situation.

What is this uncomfortable moment?
Michael Jackson had difficulty singing along with a “Jackson 5” song and complained that it was “like someone was someone is pushing a fist into my inner ear, I know you mean well, with much love.” It became obvious that nobody could understand what he meant by that, yet the collected stage director, Kenny Ortega, handled the awkward silence with much respect for all, while getting to the bottom of what Jackson was really trying to communicate. Instead of stating that Michael wasn’t being clear of what he wanted, Ortega first asked Michael to repeat his problem one more time because he couldn’t hear him. Then Ortega asked him “Michael is there anything that we can give your ears in terms of volume or mix?” By Ortega narrowing the answers into two options, Michael was then able to reply with better clarity “Could we just bring it down a little bit?” One can defend the difficulty of Michael’s communication with him being quite preoccupied and overwhelmed with performing, but at least the situation was well handled by a stage director who knew how to handle a delicate situation with much compassion for Michael and arriving at solutions that can also benefit the concert technical team. This illustrates how much love and respect that the concert crew has for the Michael they admired. Bravo Kenny Ortega, Bravo.

The film was edited in the same old fashion as documentaries of the seventies. Where events tell a story all its own without any narration. Much of "This Is It" appears to be structured similar to the "Anthology" project in 1996 when the surviving Beatles took John Lennon outtakes after his murder, and added their voices and instruments to craft the "Real Love" and "Free As a Bird" songs. Jackson opens with the song. "Wanna be startin something."
 

Beyond all this, the film starts with the following titles and summarizes the effect of what Michael Jackson’s last performance means to the world:

It was Spring of 2009. At the age of 50, after a decade’s absence from stage, Michael Jackson was quietly performing and crafting an entirely new concert experience. His audience was a small group of technicians and dancers who watched Michael Jackson create a show that would have been his return to the stage. The film consists of footage captured during the rehearsal period from March through June. It was intended for Michael Jackson’s personal library and as original film content for the show. On June 25th, Michael Jackson and his team were 8 days away from traveling to London to begin their final dress rehearsals for an unprecedented 50 sold out concerts. With the permission of the Michael Jackson Estate and thanks to a few cameras that caught the magic, here is a glimpse of the passionate gift Michael Jackson was preparing for his fans and audiences of the world.

 I would love for you to weigh in your thoughts on the good and bad of this film. Please post your comments below this article.