The King of Pop Cooks: A Michael Movie Review

You can tell within minutes whether Michael is your kind of biopic. It doesn’t show up to watch a legend collapse, it shows up to remind you why arenas shook when he hit the stage. I walked in hoping for a movie that honors the early rise, the unstoppable run, and the craft behind the spectacle, and I walked out giving it an A+.

I break down what works and why, starting with the biggest reason the film feels “real” on a big screen.The concert energy. The performance sequences are shot like you’re sitting front row, and the sound and camera movement make it feel less like a checklist of facts and more like being inside the moment. I also talk about how the story frames Michael Jackson’s creative process, letting you watch ideas take shape behind projects like Thriller, Bad, and Billie Jean, which is a rare gift for any music biopic.

Then we get into the hot-button debate. Some critics call the movie sanitized, but I argue that a two-hour film has to choose a focus, and this one chooses celebration over takedown. I also explain why the ending feels abrupt, why that can be both frustrating and effective, and why a sequel is the right place to explore the darker chapters if that’s where the filmmakers go next. Plus, a quick public service announcement about theater etiquette if you’re thinking of bringing the kids.

Hit play, then subscribe, share the episode with a friend who loves Michael Jackson or just movies! Leave a review if you’re enjoying the show. After you watch Michael, what grade are you giving it?

Transcript

Quick Intro And Social Plugs

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What is up? It is your boy Jared Cooking With Gas in the studio right now. This is going to be a nice quick episode, a review of the movie Michael, for all of you to enjoy. So for any of you that follow me on my socials, which, if you don't, get it your boy, get it cooking with gas on all social media platforms: Facebook, X, TikTok, Instagram. All of them are just under Cookin' With Gas, except for X. X is at CWG Podcast. So make sure you give me a follow on all of the social media platforms. I do go on there a lot. I make a lot of posts, a lot of news, different things from movies to music to sports. So get on there, follow me, share, do whatever you can to help the podcast out. I appreciate every single one of you. In this episode, there is one thing we're going to talk about, and that is the movie Michael. I am going to give you my review of that film. And for those of you who do follow me on the socials, you would have seen that I am a big fan of this film. This film was

What The Movie Focuses On

SPEAKER_00 1:38

exactly what I wanted out of it. Went to see it last weekend, and it was everything I wanted and more in a film. Now, if you're going into this movie and you want to see the fall of a star, it's not for you. This movie is two hours and seven minutes long. If you wanted to get into all that, this movie would have had to have been five hours at the minimum. So I have no problem with what some people are saying, which is that this movie is sanitized and that it makes Michael look like some sort of deity. Well, first of all, Michael was a deity at this part of his career. He was the end all be all of artists. He was the best one out. Everybody liked Michael Jackson, and they should have, because he was that talented. Sure, he was a weirdo. We all know that Michael was a weirdo, and they touch on that in this movie. You get to see a bit of the weirdness that Michael had even at a younger age. But I did not need this movie to start diving into the accusations of what Michael Jackson had in his life. You want to do a sequel, which they are going to be doing, you want to do a sequel and you want to start diving into stuff like that, then I'm per I'm perfectly fine with it. But with this movie, it gave me exactly what I needed, which was the beginning career of Michael and how straight up badass this dude was.

Jafar Jackson’s Full Transformation

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Look, there are some scenes in this movie where which I'll get into Jafar and his performance. There are some scenes in this movie that you would would not be able to experience unless you were sitting in a concert when Michael Jackson was touring. And that's exactly what this movie gave me. It gave me the opportunity to see the king of pop in concert live. There are multiple scenes in this movie where he is performing on stage, and it is like you are sitting front row or even in a chair on the stage with Michael while he performs these songs. Now, when I say with Michael, I mean that because Jafar Jackson absolutely transforms into his uncle, and good for him. He did Michael major justice in this film. It is sad that Michael isn't here to see what his nephew did on the screen in the form of transforming completely into him for this role. This isn't an impersonation of Michael. It is a straight up transformation into him. There were times I looked at my wife next to me and I said, This dude is Michael Jackson. The look, the the wardrobe, the feel, the dance moves, you could tell he studied, he worked in incredibly hard, and he knocks it out of the park. He deserves every bit of credit for this role that he gets. Now, is this role going to blow Jafar Jackson up into some type of wild actor or or star? I can't say that it will or it won't. I'm more on the it won't side, simply because Jafar Jackson, he looks like a Jackson. You know, so there were there were a few prosthetics that had to be put on him in order to make him look a little bit more like Michael. Um, but as for an acting career in the future for Jafar, I believe that he could be an amazing actor. There's no way you'd be able to pull this role off unless you have that in your blood. So he he obviously does. But when you get a role like this, it could kind of just put you in a place where people only see you as that. I hope that's not the case for him. I hope he gets a chance to do other roles. You're gonna see him again in the sequel. They are already planning the sequel, and I and I'm ready for it. But with this movie, again, I could not ask for more out of a film when it comes to Michael Jackson and the beginning of his career. Now, some people are a little disappointed in the ending of the film. I'm not going to spoil uh a bunch of things for anybody. It's kind of hard to spoil a biopic

Abrupt Ending And Wanting More

SPEAKER_00 5:40

in a way, because we all know about Michael Jackson's life, but I'm not going to dive into how the movie ends. Uh, it does end quickly, though, uh abruptly, you could say, and at a point where even myself, I'm like, I need more. Give me more. Is that good or is that bad? It's both. It's bad because you want more. I I looked at my wife next to me and I said, This is the first movie that I have watched in a long time that I just flat out do not want to end, and it's already over two hours. And all of you know me, if you've listened to my past podcasts about movies or any of anything along those lines, I don't want to be sitting in the theater for anything longer than two hours and fifteen minutes. This movie is two hours and seven minutes. You could have put me in that theater for at least another hour, and I I would not have complained at all. That is how good the story is. That is how good the character is. It flows through this movie. Antoine Fuqua did an amazing job. The characters do an amazing job. And for anybody out there who does want to hate on this movie, what the hell do you want? What is it that that brings a smile to your face in a movie theater? Because I really don't d I would have no clue as to what you're looking for if you go into this movie and you have you have some some hatred to spew about it when you walk out. So

Critics Miss The Point

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the critics, we all know critics, okay? They're they're they're assholes. Alright? And well, I'm I'm being a critic right now, so I'm putting myself kind of into that same that same pot. But these critics who enter this movie and came out and give it this terrible grade, these critics wanna see drama. They want to see a star fall. That that's the one thing that you don't get in this movie where they want to see somebody collapse. Everybody likes to see the fall of a star, right? Well, you're not gonna fucking get it in this movie. Nor should you. This is a celebration of the artist that Michael was, the performer that he was, and how straight up unbelievably talented and creative he was. It shows you how he comes up with the the creative ideas for Thriller and Bad and Billy Jean, how he brought that music video to life. It shows you how he created the worlds that he would put into his music videos that would just be like no other. So to see Michael do that in the background, to be a fly on the wall and witness the straight-up genius that Michael Jackson was during his creative process is something you're you're not going to get, and it's special to be a part of when you're watching this movie. Now, the critics and the people, they are they watched two different films. The critics give this movie I want to say it's at like 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the people have it at like 98%. So seeing the critics get ratioed to the depths of hell is an absolutely beautiful thing in this aspect because this movie doesn't deserve the the hate that it's getting from these professional critics that just wanted to see something they didn't get in this movie. Will they get that in the second movie? Most likely you're going to dive into the accusational part of Michael's life in the second movie. And like I said, I wanted more from this movie. It was to the point where I was sitting there saying, It's like I'm sitting at a Michael Jackson concert in some of these scenes. It's the closest I'm ever going to be to be able to see the King of Pop live on stage. They filled these arenas with fans. They filmed the movie impeccably to make it seem like you are sitting right there, 1984, 1988, inside these packed arenas with the king of pop as he performs his hottest songs. So if that's what you want, if you want to have a good time in the theater, go see Michael. I don't know exactly what more you could want out of a movie. You walk out of the movie, just just vibes, man.

Vibes

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That's what the movie is. It is vibes. And when you leave, you have this kind of pep in your step from the music that you listen to because we all know those hot jams of Michael Jackson when he was starting out with those uh incredible albums that hit the top of the charts. It doesn't dive into every single track that he created, but it gets into the hottest ones. And let me tell you, there is there is a there there's multiple scenes in this movie where it it gave me goosebumps. I'm watching this scene and I'm like, how did they put this on film? It's incredible. The way he turns and and looks at the other characters, the way he sounds, Jafar just brings you into that world of what his uncle Michael created, and it's awesome. It is A. It is my first movie that I will give for this year an A plus 100 grade. I gave an A to Project Hell Mary. That was a great movie, a great movie. Michael is on another level. Again, it's two hours and seven minutes long. It it has scenes in it where I cannot wait to be able to watch clips over and over again from this movie. One of my personal favorite songs of Michael Jackson is Human Nature. There is a performance in this movie where Michael performs human nature. It is one of the best scenes I have seen in modern film history. I am not effing with you. It is that good. The emotion, the way the camera moves, Jafar's performance on the stage, it is like you are watching him live. Now, I did say in a previous podcast that this movie was going to bring people out to the movie theater who haven't been there before, or not necessarily haven't been there before, but don't necessarily go all the time.

Theater Etiquette And Final Grade

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Do everyone a favor. Don't be bringing your toddlers to the movie theater. I had a freaking toddler in my theater. The thing cried like five times. Keep your kids, your toddlers, at home, okay? And if you can't control your children, keep their rowdy asses at home too. Cause I had a couple of those running up and down the aisle like we were at fucking Chuck E. Cheese or something. Look, people pay good money to go see these movies. And and the person who brings their family there is is paying an extreme amount of money to bring these these children there. And it blows my mind. You're ruining the experience for a lot of people. Don't do it. Okay? Keep your kids at home if you can't control them. If you can, great. Bring them. They'll enjoy it. Who knows? They'll probably look at that screen, and if it was anything like me watching Michael when I was younger, it might actually inspire them to do something great with their life. So my review is go see Michael. It is an incredible film. It is the best movie of the year so far, without a doubt. Nothing tops this movie right now. Just drop what you're doing. If you're on the fence, if you're wondering, maybe I'll go see it or I'll wait for it on streaming, you're not gonna get what you're gonna get in the theater with this movie. This movie is a concert on film with a backstory that is incredibly interesting. And just get in the car, drive to the theater. You're probably gonna have to get some tickets beforehand because these theaters are selling out. I walked into my theater and it was the most busy I've ever seen it. Ever. The the concession line was smashed. It was it was insane. I mean, this movie has made over $218 million in its first three to four days that it was out last weekend. So go to see the movie, have a good time. If you go to see it, get on my page, tell me what you thought. I'm interested in everybody else's opinion about this film, of course. So that's it for this episode. It was a simple, quick episode, a review of the movie Michael. Again, go see it in theaters. It is out right now. Do not miss this movie in theaters. It is an experience like no other A plus. It gets an A plus grade from me at the Cookin' With Gas Podcast. Thank you for listening. Go buy your tickets, get your popcorn, enjoy yourselves, have a great weekend. Peace out.