This Is It review

So over the Halloween weekend, I got a chance to see the Michael Jackson film "This Is It." After all the buzz and hype that went in to this film, I was overall disappointed.

For those of you that do not know, "This Is It" is a film of complied concert rehearsal footage at the L.A. Staples Center of Michael Jackson's worldwide tour of the same name. Unfortunately the concerts which were set the take off in the London O2 arena never took place due to Jackson's sudden death due to an accidental overdose. In its place and a bit of a swan song for the late pop singer is the movie that will show all the work the 50 year old put in to the tour.

All the previews, entertainment news stories covered on all mediums made this the concert movie experience of the decade.

Though I give Jackson credit for getting back out on the road at his age to perform for his fans, this is not the same Jacko of past. But we all know that Jackson was in some kind of terrible financial situation so he really had no choice but to go out and tour which makes any critic jaded about the whole thing going in to it.

Going in to the film, I was excited and ready to see what would be the last memory of an amazing performer; instead we get a whinny, shadow of his former self. He treats everyone involved like they are beneath him and yet everyone still kisses his ass.

There is one scene in particular where he starts complaining that he shouldn't be singing because it will ruin his vocal cords, that they need to be rested for the big shows. Everyone around; dancers, producers, are all buttering him up telling him you have to sing, that everything is great.

I was led to believe that there would be more singing and dancing rather then him complaining like a little girl with a skinned knee. I know it was his show but almost every 5 minutes he is telling everyone they are doing it wrong. I now understand why some footage should not be seen in the public light, this whole experience made him look like a bigger diva then Diana Ross. But in retrospect he did have an obsession with his mentor so I guess the shoe fits.

I will leave this on a good note though, one part of the film that was quite beautifully done, was the "Smooth Criminal" sequence, along with some of the other rehearsals. Overall though "Smooth Criminal" was done very well and the short film that comes before of Jackson having a gunfight with the late Humphrey Bogart proved that Jackson did have a brilliant idea at play and wanted his fans to appreciate what could have been the final product.