Jackson film shows London what it missed

In the face of protests from some fans that it gives an untrue depiction of Michael Jackson's dying days, the worldwide premiere of This Is It, screened in 19 cities  around the world last night, including Los Angeles, London and Sydney, received a rapturous reception from fans and critics.

The documentary film gives a taste of what might have been had Jackson not died on June 25, three weeks before he was due to give a series of concerts at the O2 Arena in London. Many critics, writing overnight, believe the concerts would have been exceptional.

As Ann Powers, pop critic of the Los Angeles Times, put it: "As a tragic teaser for the shows that might have been, This Is It hurts. If Jackson had been able to perform as he frequently does during these scenes, he would have accomplished the comeback for which he was so hungry."

The film was pieced together from 110 hours of high definition footage shot during the four-month-long rehearsals in LA for the London concerts. Directed by Kenny Ortega, who was also creative director of the ill-fated concerts, it shows Jackson, a famous perfectionist, pushing his musicians and dancers hard.

Numbers performed range from Jackson 5 standards like I'll Be There through to the familiar hits, Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller, each of them given the full treatment. The Thriller zombie dance number only just made it: the full dress rehearsal was filmed on the day before he died.

There is also a salute to Old Hollywood, with "green screen" cinematography used to great effect: in one sequence, Rita Hayworth, singing Put The Blame On Mame from the 1946 film Gilda, peels off her long silk glove and appears to throw it to Jackson, who magically catches it.

The protestors say the film covers up Jackson's declining health and accuse the concert promoter AEG of putting too much pressure on Jackson by demanding 50 concert dates at the O2. They have set up a website called This Is Not It where they catalogue what they claim Ortega's film does not show: Jackson's sudden weight loss, for instance, which left him so weak that Ortega allegedly had to help the ailing star up the stairs and cut his food.

The website is highly professional and persuasive but, for the moment at least, the voices of protest look likely to be drowned out by the fans who have seen This Is It.

"Judging by that film, it would have been the best show of all time," Darryn Wade told the BBC. "I just wish I got to see the live concert."

Jackson's pal Elizabeth Taylor issued her verdict via Twitter. "The single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen," she wrote.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYINGRichard Corliss, Time: "For a modern entertainer who dies before his time, immortality is measured in residuals - the money from commemorative projects like this. Michael Jackson will have no resurrection - in the end, that was that - but the movie does earn him a redemptive legacy. It proves that, at the end, he was still a thriller. Fans and doubters alike can look at the gentle, driven singer-dancer at the center of this up-close document and say, admiringly: This was him."
 
Andrew Pulver, the Guardian: "It's a bit much to claim it's any kind of viable substitute for the live show, and since Jackson avoids conversation as much as is humanly possible it's also a bit much to claim we get to know anything more about how he ticks. But This Is It a testament of a kind, and one that is no disgrace to his memory."

Greg Kot, the Chicago Tribune: "The movie doesn't exactly bring Jackson closer to the audience, doesn't make him any easier to figure out. He remains a remote, inscrutable, soft-spoken, somewhat needy presence. But then he begins to dance and his fragility hardens into purpose."

Baz Bamigboye, Daily Mail: "The best moments show Jackson's tetchy side. The desire for perfection drives him. 'I'm not feeling that part enough', he complains to a musician. The musician responds, 'It's coming there'. Jackson snaps back, 'Well get there'."

Ann Powers, Los Angeles Times: "Though occasionally ragged, his voice is strong - lush on such ballads as Human Nature and cutting in rockers like Black or White and Beat It. And his dancing is utterly assured. It's tough to believe he was 50, he seems so feather-light and vigorous."

Brian Orndorf, FilmJerk.com: "Jackson deserved something booming and blinding to send his legacy into orbit. 'This Is It' is strictly pressed factory floor sweepings, packaged and sold with questionable intent to a public aching for closure." ·