This is it

Rating: 6.0/10

Genre: Documentary

Overall value for money and time: 6.5/10

Go behind the scenes of Michael Jacskson's expected "This is it" series of sold-out shows in London before his daeth. Before I start, I want to declare that one the reasons why this film didn't appeal to me could be because I wasn't that huge of a MJ fan to start with, as it is not my intended purpose to offend any MJ fans in my review.

This is it, one of the best documentaries of the year. Nope. This is it, a film which will break you down into tears of amazement and grief for the passing of a legend. Nope. This is it, a film which shows the other side of MJ you have never seen before. Nope. This is it, a film about what happens backstage of MJ's (and probably his previous) shows and the hardwork put into it. Yes. Yes. Yes.

There's a lot of reviews saying that this film will expose the "the side of MJ we have never seen before". But after sitting through it, I didn't see it. I didn't see him taking off his "mask", I didn't see his personality unravelling, I didn't get to understand MJ better. What I did learn from this film is that he has an exceptional fan base who is dying to dance with him on stage, and yes, his dancers are one of the finest. Also, featured inside is probably one of the best female electrical guitarist I have ever seen; I get to see the hard work involved in rehearsing and in putting the show together with pyrotechniques and other special effects like an intended 3D hologram; MJ's does not shine in vocals but does so in his stage presence; and that MJ is highly devoted to his music, his performance and those he works with.

The way everyone speaks to him seems too formally polite in the film. In a positive light, either they respect him to their fullest, viewed upon like a royalty, or negatively speaking, they are just pretending to be so, cos he's the one in charge and no one dares to offend him. In my personal opinion, I view it almost hypocritical, for there is a clear definition between being casually polite and overly, formally polite. Of course, I cannot make this comment without backing it up.

The dancers are without a doubt, filled with respect for him (proof from the start of the film). His band, and backup singers, could be either. His director and co-producer of the shows, dubious. No one seems to have a "genuine" conversation with him in the film, it sounded all very "show-focused". There wasn't a single interview with him in the film, and there wasn't a "lighter" side of him which featured him mingling with his dancers, director or band members. All it showed was him was him telling his dancers how the dance moves should be like, making comments about the different songs and how he wants them done. I cannot fathom why that is prevalent in a backstage footage, doesnt backstage footages show the "lighter" side of performers?

Probably the only time he did "connect" with the rest was after performing his songs and the words he spoke soon after, about thanking all of them. But it appeared like he was just speaking to them "all" at a go and not a single one of them at any given point of time.

What I saw in the film, I can safely say that that side of MJ has already been shown through his past interviews and performances. But I did bring home something after the film. I got to re-expose myself to the deeper meaning of his songs, his mannerisms and the amount of respect he receives from those around him.