This Is It

A shameful exercise in making a quick buck 2 Reviews

© ITP Images

It’s a shameful exercise in making a quick buck, but that’s unlikely to deter the millions of people who are expected to make the pilgrimage to the multiplex to see this, the last footage of MJ before his sudden death in June. It’s a backstage pass to the rehearsals for his 50-date residency at London’s O2 arena – a residency that, of course, wasn’t to be. The film will be in cinemas for a limited period of two weeks, which perhaps suggests that the Estate of Michael Jackson – which fully supports this venture – is counting on stirring up the same hysteria that surrounded his death to make a killing at the box office.

The film shows us how the King of Pop devised, created and practised the sold-out shows between April and June of this year, so it’s a chance to see what the man was like in his very last months. (That said, the fact that his estate supports the film obliterates any chance there may have been of getting a real insight into who Michael Jackson was). Unfortunately, the morbid fascination that MJ continues to inspire even after his demise means we’ll probably all be down the cinema anyhow, staring just as dumbly as we did when he was alive. Ah well, there’ll be some good tunes, at least.
Laura Chubb

Time Out reviews films anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.