Review of This Is It (2009) by Chads. — 29 Oct 2009

Michael Jackson is on a lift, and as it ascends, the filmmaker warns, "Michael, please hold on," which in retrospect, sounds like a tenebrous plea to the fading superstar, who would soon fade away(dead at the shocking age of fifty), that he indeed, hold on.

"This Is It", the new single, in its original incarnation, was probably meant to herald Jackson's return to commercial prominence, but since the servicable song, at the very least, won't even make you forget the identically titled Kenny Loggins FM-lite hit from the late-seventies, rising above the status of notstalgia act, seemed very unlikely for this once superlative hitmaker.

While Jackson's songwriting muse deserted him soon after 1991's "Black and White"(don't do the math), his trademark dancing genius, as evidenced by the rehearsal footage in "Michael Jackson's This Is It", would make him a sublime one-trick pony to the very end.

Shot from an objective distance, the moviegoer sees what onlookers see: a man who might have lost his nose, but not his step. Even at half-speed, during a run-through of "Billie Jean", Jackson's signature moves causes a commotion among his subordinate dancers, whose awe and affection for their tortured boss look genuine.

It's moments like this(another one is the on-stage chemistry he shares with guitarist Orianthi Panagaris while rehearsing "Beat It") that help transcend the exploitative intent of this hasty, desultory, "found" documentary.

Unfortunately, it's the only chance for people to see Jackson emerge from a mechanical arachnid like "The King of Pop and the Spider from Gary".