Much like the man himself, This Is It will be a very polarizing experience for audiences. Those who were grief stricken with the sudden and unexpected death of the King of Pop on June 25th of this year will no doubt be overjoyed to get one last glimpse of the man in action. It's likely to be a joyous and sad experience all at once, and will most likely resonate with them. There's a reason why the words "For the Fans" appears before the movie even starts.

I'll admit up front, this movie was not made for me. I acknowledge Jackson's place in music history, and am all too willing to admit his talent, and the fact that he was a master showman. There is no doubt of this while you're watching the film. All the reports of him being sick and frail during his final days pretty much fly out the window when you watch the rehearsal footage that has been collected of what was supposed to be both his grand comeback and his farewell tour. He's dedicated to his music, and to giving his fans a show they most likely wouldn't forget had they gotten a chance to see it. We get to see glimpses of what Jackson had planned, including elaborate film sequences, one of which inserts Jackson into clips from famous black and white gangster films, as a set up to his "Smooth Criminal" number. For "Thriller", his crew designed an elaborate 3D movie and interactive experience for the audience. From what we get to see of the original film, it looks like it would have been quite something to see. (Although, one can't help but feel a bit weirded out at the sight of Jackson dancing amongst the "undead dancers" up on stage.) The film allows us a chance to see some of Jackson's elaborate vision, his musical prowess, and...Well, not much else.

The film's director is Kenny Ortega (High School Musical 3: Senior Year), who was also directing and designing the actual concert itself. You would think this would lead to a rather intimate portrayal of Jackson himself, or just what goes into making such an elaborate show, but strangely, we're left at a complete distance the entire time. We never truly get the personal views of the man himself. Jackson comments on a couple things he doesn't like, or says a few words to his band or backup dancers, but other than this, we never truly get to hear from him. He's treated almost like an enigma, as if the people working around him are scared to get too close. They gush lavish praise about him every chance they get, but there's no real intimacy that one would expect working on a show such as this. There's never a sense that we are getting a true behind the scenes look at what could have been. Rather, we are watching spliced together footage of various rehearsal periods. It's one song after another, with no time for personal reflection or thoughts. The most we ever get to hear from Jackson is during his "Earth Song" number, where we hear him talking about the environment, and how we have to save the Earth before it's too late. Too bad it sounds like he's reading off of a script, so we still don't feel like we're actually listening to him.

All of this makes This Is It into an oddity of a film. It is not a documentary, nor is it really a deep or insightful look into Michael Jackson. It's also not a reflection on his career, as the movie is stuck at one moment in time. It is simply a concert film made up of unfinished footage. Fans are likely to be enthralled, but it dragged a little me. There is no behind the scenes info, nothing we couldn't learn about the concert that a five minute advertisement for it could not tell us, and curiously enough, no information on how Jackson's sudden death impacted the people involved. The ending is quite abrupt, as the movie just seems to stop, flash a brief "in memory" message, and then roll the credits. I understand that this movie is intended as a celebration of Jackson's music, but at the same time, a little bit of emotion would have been appreciated. No matter how impressive some of the musical numbers are staged, it never overcomes the overall hollow feeling that the movie carries with it.
So, yes, I agree when the opening titles say that this movie is for the fans. They're the only ones that need apply, or are likely to get any emotional response out of it. This Is It shows us that Michael Jackson still had what made him famous, but doesn't bother to dig any deeper than that. That should be enough for certain people. It wasn't for me.

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