Fort St. John

This was a difficult movie to rate because I didn't want to give it a "death bump" -- a work of art should be able to hold up without someone having to die to get a rating. For that reason I asked myself how I would feel about the movie if he were still alive. In that light, I think of it as an ok movie about Jackson in rehearsal, putting together his show. He's conserving his energy and trying to avoid injuries to his body and his throat. Other people on set either "love" him, or they deeply respect him, or they fear disagreeing with him. He seems to have a deep knowledge of his own music, and a deep sense of musicality that most of the people who work with him can't even seem to imagine. So I do think it was a good movie, but certainly it could be better -- Michael Jackson could sing better and dance better than he did in the film: he doesn't because he doesn't take chances in rehearsal and he doesn't know a theater movie will be put together from this footage. It's a good documentary though, in particular because it provides a face of Jackson that people have not seen. So close to Jackson's death, it is also emotionally moving to watch. To get a sense of his talent, however, I think that comes out much more powerfully in his music videos and recorded live performances. Not to dismiss what has been said in the other reviews though. You do learn something about Jackson from these background scenes. And I think it's great that the movie was made. Fans want to see it. It would be nice if some of the money goes to all the people who worked so hard to put that show together.

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