Early reviews for the highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic have taken fans by surprise.
Michael garnered massive buzz, fueled by the singer’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, stepping into the King of Pop’s shoes and direction from Antoine Fuqua. The marketing also generated strong excitement, positioning the film as a potential blockbuster.
However, that momentum stalled when critics shared their first reactions online.
The much-awaited biopic was largely panned, dramatically lowering expectations just days before its theatrical debut. It earned almost universally negative reviews, landing at a 31% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here’s what critics are saying about the biopic.
#1 “The Dramatic Depth Of A Wikipedia Article”
MICHAEL is an extraordinarily sanitized, overly audience-friendly music biopic that makes Bohemian Rhapsody look like a complex, nuanced character study. With the dramatic depth of a Wikipedia article, the film introduces but fails to even remotely explore fascinating aspects of… pic.twitter.com/eCPTUTmVeX
— The HoloFiles - Movie/TV News & Reviews (@theholofiles) April 21, 2026
Image credits: UniversalPictures / Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty Images
#2 “Painfully Bad”
'Michael' review: Michael Jackson biopic is painfully bad https://t.co/0qQpVa5kUg pic.twitter.com/Rj4nf5NCCN
— New York Post (@nypost) April 21, 2026
Image credits: UniversalPictures
#3 “An Unmitigated Disaster”
Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson movie is like making a cheery biopic of Bill Cosby that ended with his successful run on 'The Cosby Show.'https://t.co/QKMI6Ja9u5
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) April 21, 2026
Image credits: UniversalPictures
#4 “Predictably Sanitized And Surprisingly Tedious”
‘Michael’ Review: Embattled Michael Jackson Biopic Is Glossy, Sanitized, and Surprisingly Dull https://t.co/wv9H3mdYD0
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) April 21, 2026
#5 “No Artistic Point Of View"
"A cosplaying tribute act with no artistic point-of view."
— Empire (@empiremagazine) April 21, 2026
Michael Jackson receives the biopic treatment, chronicling his journey from the Jackson 5 era through his early solo career in Michael — in UK cinemas tomorrow.
Read the Empire review: https://t.co/bcXpW34aho pic.twitter.com/zcOHUgHNKr
Image credits: UniversalPictures
#6 “A Little Depressing”
Rolling Stone reviews 'Michael'
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) April 21, 2026
"The biopic has got other, far more pressing concerns on its mind, like the multitude of dollar signs floating before its eyes." pic.twitter.com/OlaZfyTjVH
Image credits: UniversalPictures
#7 “Surprisingly Dull”
For a movie about an oddball megastar who befriended a chimpanzee, much of “Michael” is surprisingly dull. Naturally, the main event is the music https://t.co/on7xBVMRkH
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) April 21, 2026
#8 “Obliterates Vital Context”
#Michael exists in a vacuum that obliterates vital context and important people. It prints a legend and edits out everything that detracts or distracts from that legend.
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) April 21, 2026
"Jaafar plays this up in every scene, portraying Michael as a tragic figure whose life was ruined by… pic.twitter.com/pNeE7vTp3I
Image credits: UniversalPictures
#9 “Entirely The Opposite Of What He Was”
No matter where you come down on Michael Jackson as a person, this biopic is entirely the opposite of what he was, both as an iconic performer and a controversial tabloid figure.
— IGN (@IGN) April 21, 2026
Our review: https://t.co/nX3g5k9Ai3 pic.twitter.com/t9VLpoPWy8
#10 “Equivalent Of An After-School Special”
#Michael Review:
— Paul Shirey (@arcticninjapaul) April 21, 2026
“The film never confronts Jackson’s legacy, but sidesteps it. What we get is a polished, sugar-coated, after-school special tribute concert film that protects the myth while avoiding the complexity that followed.
It may as well be called Saint Michael, rather… pic.twitter.com/dcwXOla2hs
