"This Is It" review

As a fan of the "old" Michael Jackson, I honestly had low expectations of this documentary. I figured it would be splices here and there of a tired and slightly crazed MJ, only half-assing his way through musical numbers.

Boy, was I wrong.

Not only was Michael Jackson completely on top of his game, the documentary itself was extraordinarily well-made and edited.

The doco opened up with very poignant moments of some of the dancers, many of them emotional, about the opportunity to work with Jackson and how he has inspired them. Most poignant was a young Australian who flew to auditions a mere two days before they began. It's just so sad how all of their hard work has led to little fruition. You are constantly reminded of this during the film as you see their incredible and awe-inspiring dance performances.

What will surprise moviegoers the most is the performance of Jackson. Only during "Thriller" will you note he has a voice track, and he is *always* on key and *always* sounds like the original recordings. To say he was a perfectionist would be something of an understatement. Fans will enjoy his renditions of "Can't Stop Loving You," "The Way You Make Me Feel," and "Human Nature," among many other songs he performs.

You can tell that he is holding back ever so slightly while dancing. Of course, you can't help but cheer a bit inside as he and his dancers perform the now infamous "Thriller" dance. However, he spent a great deal of time focusing on his vocals and so would move across the stage slightly less powerfully. He would later admit that he wasn't really saving his voice while practicing. What's most notable is how he was able to critique and criticize with that same inflection in his voice and always with "love." He appeared to be an incredible humble performer to work with.

What will impress the audience the most is the amount of money put into the production itself -- not just the amazing band and the incredible dance numbers, mind you, but the special effects. Most notable is an incredible digital duplication of dancers during "They Don't Really Care About Us," and the 3-D effects they put into opening footage of "Thriller." Not to mention the incredible pyrotechnics and stage effects. (My favorite was the "toaster" where dancers would pop up from under the stage.)

The documentary itself is more of an apology to concertgoers, as it is entirely focused on dancing and musical numbers, including full-length versions of MJ simply singing on stage. The end credits feature the entire track "This Is It," a previously unreleased song from Jackson. There isn't as much "behind the stage" as you would expect from a concert documentary, but those pieces are notable. The best scenes were when the cameramen would cut from the stage to see dancers and other crew cheering on as though they were at the concert themselves.

This is definitely a must-see "Full Price" for fans of Jackson.