Michael Jackson's This Is It

Michael Jackson's This Is It

This Is It is a remarkable little documentary about the behind the scenes of what was supposed to be the returning concert tour for Michael Jackson. Not only is it a documentary film, it is almost a full fledge concert film as well. Many of MJ legendary songs get slightly different concert versions of their original forms.

Sadly, MJ died before the concert was supposed to start. The first concert was supposed to start on July 13, 2009, but he died on June 25. Watching MJ smile and dance, you really get to see that he enjoyed making music and creating dance steps, something that he hasn’t done in a long time.

Seeing Michael Jackson work with the musicians over his classic songs was one of the best moments in the film. The footage has Michael Jackson practicing the “This Is It” concert with the dancers, singers, and artists. We also see a lot of the CGI/3D intros to each number that was planned for the concert. Some of them are truly amazing and need to be seen on DVD. (Watch all the making of Special Features too)

There are times when you will see MJ get a little flustered and other times get a little carried away with the music. Many times, MJ would sit back and let his musicians and dancers shine in the concert. You’ll probably never get a closer look into the Musical mind of MJ than in this picture.

Here are a few of my favorite numbers.

"They Don't Care About Us": This has an interesting CGI cloning intro with a slightly remixed version of the original.

"Human Nature": You actually get to see him work with the musicians on this one before the song starts. I really love the original song, and this one has very little changed from the original.

"Smooth Criminal": There are tons of shots where MJ is inserted into old films where old school gangsters gunning for him.

"The Way You Make Me Feel": This is slightly jazzy version of the original song. It seems to have the 40-50s feel set in the Smooth Criminal number. Certain parts of the song are extended for dance part.

"Thriller": Keep in mind that the music video version of “Thriller” is re-edited differently from the album version. In this concert footage, MJ mixes the two versions of the song with a funky dance remix at the end. There are a lot of amazing makeup and CGI effects in this version. The Zombies are much older than the ones in the classic music video. You see Zombies from different time periods.

"Beat It": With a few shouts, the song is pretty much the same. Even the new guitarists play the solo portions exactly the same as the original. I love this song

"Black or White": In this one, the extremely hot and talented guitarist Orianthi Panagaris shines. She plays the solo portions extremely close to the original song. This is also the part where MJ screws up and forgets that they dropped the second verse in the song. (A very funny moment) Watching MJ step aside and let her play her ass off is one of the best parts of the film. Then, the song turns into a rock song for the two guitarists (Tommy Organ and Orianthi).

Watching the final moments of this film, I had finally come to realization that “this is it” for Michael Jackson’s music. We’ll never get a comeback album or listen to him remix his classic music ever again. For people my generation, MJ was the guy that brought RB and Pop music to the forefront, and that was when MTV starting showing black artists on their network. MJ meant a lot to me growing up, and it was nice to see him one more time.

This film is a fitting end to the Michael Jackson legacy and his music. It both made me sad and happy to see the man work. This is it.

Grade: A-