The first reviews for Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson biopic starring Jaafar Jackson are here, and they're not impressive. The film debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 27% rating, which has gone up to 31% at the time of writing.
Based on 61 reviews, most have given low ratings to the film, even as they praised Jaafar's performance as his uncle. Criticism ranged from how the film was handled to its ending, hinting at a sequel, even though it doesn't fully explore Michael's story.
Critics have called the biopic 'frustrating' and 'really, really bad'. The Wrap wrote that Michael is a 'frustrating biopic that makes you want to scream', while IGN called it 'really, really bad'.
However, not everybody seemed to think Michael was as bad. Praising the film and Jaafar's performance, Variety wrote: 'Jaafar, the 29-year-old son of Jermaine Jackson, is Michael Jackson's nephew, and he has never acted in a movie before. But does he ever nail the look, the voice, the electrostatic moves — and, more than that, the mixture of delicacy and steel that made Michael who he was.'
Michael is releasing in theatres on April 24.
