Venue: Ster-Kinekor Maerua Mall
Director: Kenny Ortega
Cast:    Michael Jackson
Genre:    Documentary/Footage for the Fans
Rating: 3.5 stars
Michael Jackson referred to This Is It – the planned 2009 mega-tour - as his “final curtain call”, a last chance for his loyal fans to see him in concert and relive the greatest hits of his career.  He promised that he would be singing all the songs that his fans wanted to hear – from Jackson Five favourites to the hair-raising Thriller and beyond.  This Is It - the movie – is a compilation of footage filmed during the rehearsals for the tour and is also a last chance for fans to catch a glimpse into the world of the acclaimed “King of Pop”. 
“Everything is bigger and more intense” around Michael Jackson and I must admit that the experience of going to the cinema to watch This Is It is singularly different.  The audience crowded into the front rows and as the lights went down to scattered whistles, someone called out “I love you Michael”. This active audience interaction continued with clapping as MJ ran, jumped, swooped, or was hurtled onto stage; cheering during the opening bars of every much loved song; whooping along with any energetic dance routine; and, at one point, even heckling.  There is no doubt that this film is one for diehard fans.  It is relatively raw footage of months of rehearsals, finessed enough to ensure that each song is played through and with a nod to the talents of musicians, choreographers, dancers and scores of other people who dedicated so much effort to a tour that will now never happen.   There was an incredible amount of hard work required from everyone involved, but without Michael the show cannot go on.
As a documentary, This Is It is a powerful tribute to Michael Jackson as an artist.  He lived such a controversial life, dogged by scandal and with his public persona distorted by eccentricity.  The film does not include any insight into his life outside, or off, the rehearsal stage, focusing only on the tireless perfectionism of an incredibly talented performer.  There is no narrative, or story, to the film – it is simply a dance through the songs that were rehearsed for the tour.   It is clear that Michael Jackson planned for this tour to be spectacular – dancers, pyrotechnics, background film images, lighting, costumes - he was pushing the boundaries in each discipline – to give the audience the ultimate performance of each of his songs.  It is both interesting and awesome to see how involved he was in every detail of planning.  He was definitely not an all singing and dancing puppet, but one of the greatest entertainers of our time.  He was also not a diva and seemed to struggle giving criticism.  The impression is that he intuitively knew what he wanted, made sure that he got it and needed to assure people that he did so with love.
There is no doubt that Michael Jackson was an inspiration to lots of people, not least the performers and artists who had the opportunity to work with him.  Even his closest colleagues held him in awe.  At the end of months of rehearsals everyone stood in a circle as he thanked them, asked for their continuing dedication and patience for the tour and called them family.  It is telling that everyone in the circle linked hands, but Michael Jackson stood alone.