'This Is It' (2009)
By Adam Beck • MovieMassacre.com
Directed by: Kenny Ortega
Released by: Columbia Pictures
Michael Jackson thrills audiences around the world one last time, in this posthumous concert event. Filmed at the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles, 'This Is It' is essentially a trail run, leading up to Jackson's 50 sold out concert appearances at London England's O2 Arena.
Growing up in the 1980's, I was a big fan of Michael Jackson. His 1982 album "Thriller" had a huge impact on my childhood, especially the "Thriller" music video which was mostly responsible for my early obsession with horror movies. Like a lot of people though, I eventually grew out of my Michael Jackson phase, as alleged stories of child molestation circled the media and his odd fixation with cosmetic surgery turned the focus away from his music completely and forever tainted his public image. Despite all of that though, 'This Is It' is a truly remarkable film and an exciting glimpse of what could have been.
Over 100 hours of rehearsal footage was shot and proficiently edited into this 111 minute film, featuring Michael performing such classics as "Beat It", "Thriller", "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal" and many others. Despite not listening to any of Michael Jackson's albums in the last 20 years or so, I was still familiar with 95% of the material and it was rather fun watching Michael do what he does best...sing and dance his ass off.
There's no doubt, had Michael Jackson not passed away unexpectedly, this planned concert series would have been one of the greatest spectacles ever witnessed by man. I've been to a lot of concerts in my day, but I have never seen so much time, energy and MONEY put into a stage show such as this. For the song "Thriller", the producers went in and shot a brand new 3D movie intro, featuring zombies rising from their graves, a full size graveyard set on stage and a giant walking spider that splits apart revealing Michael Jackson hidden inside! For the song "Smooth Criminal" the producers shot a video intro in which Michael is digitally inserted into the classic Columbia Pictures film 'Gilda' from 1946. Jackson watches star Rita Hayworth as she sings 'Put the Blame on Mame' in a popular scene from the film and is later chased through the club by a gun wielding gangster. The movie intro ends with Jackson crashing through a window as the gangster fires off his tommy gun into a club marquee, riddling it with bullet holes that spell out "Smooth Criminal"...as the video ends, Jackson lands on stage and the song begins. Simply amazing!
The only negative thing I can really point out is that this is, after all, simply a concert "rehearsal" that was never intended to be seen by anyone...and because of that, at times you can tell they weren't really giving it their all. In a couple of songs, Michael is only going through the motions, missing versus of songs as he tries to figure out what he wants to do for the actual concert. There are also times where a song will stop suddenly as Michael discusses changes that he would like to have made. Also because it was shot for simply reference material, the video quality isn't the best. There's a lot of poor quality footage captured by cheap camcorders and better quality DV shots that still don't match up to the quality that most people are used to seeing. Don't get me wrong, the quality of the film is in no way "unwatchable", but at the same time if this is something you're thinking of picking up, it's probably not worth spending the extra money for the high definition blu-ray.
Besides the actual performance, 'This Is It' also features a ton of behind the scenes stuff including them testing the pyrotechnics, lighting, shooting the video intros and working with the dancers in getting the choreography down pat. They also interview just about everyone involved with the actual show, from the stage director, musicians, dancers, video production, etc.
Overall I can't recommend this film enough. I have to admit, when it was originally released in theatres, back in October of last year, I had little interest in seeing it. At that point I was so burned out on hearing about Michael Jackson which was talked about 24/7 on TV, radio, internet, newspapers, men's urinals and everywhere else you'd turn to. Now that it's been nearly one year since "The King of Pop" passed away and the media has calmed down and are focused on other things, I decided to finally sit down myself and give it a watch. Without question, 'This Is It' exceeded my expectations completely and at times I was completely floored by how awesome his final performance was. It's just a shame that none of his fans were able to see it live as originally intended. RIP Michael.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Released by: Columbia Pictures
Michael Jackson thrills audiences around the world one last time, in this posthumous concert event. Filmed at the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles, 'This Is It' is essentially a trail run, leading up to Jackson's 50 sold out concert appearances at London England's O2 Arena.
Growing up in the 1980's, I was a big fan of Michael Jackson. His 1982 album "Thriller" had a huge impact on my childhood, especially the "Thriller" music video which was mostly responsible for my early obsession with horror movies. Like a lot of people though, I eventually grew out of my Michael Jackson phase, as alleged stories of child molestation circled the media and his odd fixation with cosmetic surgery turned the focus away from his music completely and forever tainted his public image. Despite all of that though, 'This Is It' is a truly remarkable film and an exciting glimpse of what could have been.
Over 100 hours of rehearsal footage was shot and proficiently edited into this 111 minute film, featuring Michael performing such classics as "Beat It", "Thriller", "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal" and many others. Despite not listening to any of Michael Jackson's albums in the last 20 years or so, I was still familiar with 95% of the material and it was rather fun watching Michael do what he does best...sing and dance his ass off.
There's no doubt, had Michael Jackson not passed away unexpectedly, this planned concert series would have been one of the greatest spectacles ever witnessed by man. I've been to a lot of concerts in my day, but I have never seen so much time, energy and MONEY put into a stage show such as this. For the song "Thriller", the producers went in and shot a brand new 3D movie intro, featuring zombies rising from their graves, a full size graveyard set on stage and a giant walking spider that splits apart revealing Michael Jackson hidden inside! For the song "Smooth Criminal" the producers shot a video intro in which Michael is digitally inserted into the classic Columbia Pictures film 'Gilda' from 1946. Jackson watches star Rita Hayworth as she sings 'Put the Blame on Mame' in a popular scene from the film and is later chased through the club by a gun wielding gangster. The movie intro ends with Jackson crashing through a window as the gangster fires off his tommy gun into a club marquee, riddling it with bullet holes that spell out "Smooth Criminal"...as the video ends, Jackson lands on stage and the song begins. Simply amazing!
The only negative thing I can really point out is that this is, after all, simply a concert "rehearsal" that was never intended to be seen by anyone...and because of that, at times you can tell they weren't really giving it their all. In a couple of songs, Michael is only going through the motions, missing versus of songs as he tries to figure out what he wants to do for the actual concert. There are also times where a song will stop suddenly as Michael discusses changes that he would like to have made. Also because it was shot for simply reference material, the video quality isn't the best. There's a lot of poor quality footage captured by cheap camcorders and better quality DV shots that still don't match up to the quality that most people are used to seeing. Don't get me wrong, the quality of the film is in no way "unwatchable", but at the same time if this is something you're thinking of picking up, it's probably not worth spending the extra money for the high definition blu-ray.
Besides the actual performance, 'This Is It' also features a ton of behind the scenes stuff including them testing the pyrotechnics, lighting, shooting the video intros and working with the dancers in getting the choreography down pat. They also interview just about everyone involved with the actual show, from the stage director, musicians, dancers, video production, etc.
Overall I can't recommend this film enough. I have to admit, when it was originally released in theatres, back in October of last year, I had little interest in seeing it. At that point I was so burned out on hearing about Michael Jackson which was talked about 24/7 on TV, radio, internet, newspapers, men's urinals and everywhere else you'd turn to. Now that it's been nearly one year since "The King of Pop" passed away and the media has calmed down and are focused on other things, I decided to finally sit down myself and give it a watch. Without question, 'This Is It' exceeded my expectations completely and at times I was completely floored by how awesome his final performance was. It's just a shame that none of his fans were able to see it live as originally intended. RIP Michael.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
