Michael (2026)

This week we are reviewing Michael, the 2026 biographical drama directed by Antoine Fuqua — the man behind Training Day and The Equalizer — starring Jaafar Jackson, the 27-year-old nephew of Michael Jackson as Michael himself, alongside a powerhouse Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson.

The film begins in Gary, Indiana in 1966 and follows Michael from his childhood as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 through the Motown years, the Off the Wall and Thriller era, the Pepsi commercial accident, and up to the Bad World Tour in London in 1988. The allegations, the trials, and his death in 2009 are not depicted. An epilogue card reads: his story continues.
 
Both hosts went to see this together during the week. 

The Scotsman went in not wanting to support the Jackson estate because of the allegations. He came out calling it the greatest film he has seen in a long time.

The Aussie was dancing in his seat. 
 
But this episode does something most reviews of this film have not.

They give the allegations a dedicated, serious section — both sides of the argument, the Jordan Chandler case, the 2005 criminal trial, the Leaving Neverland accusations, what was found and what was not found, the settlement, and the Robson and Safechuck civil case due in November 2026. The Scotsman presents it without taking a side. The Aussie declares his hand. 
 
The debate underneath all of this is genuinely compelling. Would Michael Jackson have made it without Joe Jackson?

The Scotsman says yes — absolutely, inevitably, on his own terms. The Aussie says the father was seventy percent of it. They argue about this for a while. 
 
Jaafar Jackson gets enormous credit from both hosts. The voice, the movement, the sweetness, the vulnerability — trained for years in his uncle's specific choreographic style. Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson — terrifying, cold, never given a redemption arc — is described as the best supporting performance in any biopic of the last decade.
 
The scene where Michael fires his father by fax. Joe Jackson walking into the room holding the paper. Michael unable to look at him. "He always wins," Michael says. The Scotsman says it was one of the most uncomfortable scenes he has sat through.
 
There is also a disagreement about Paul McCartney's singing voice — the Scotsman gives him four out of ten — and a moment where the Aussie confidently calls George Harrison the drummer of The Beatles. He is not. .
 
Rohan Reminisces goes back to 1982 — the year Thriller dropped — and for once, it actually delivers. Gandhi, Ben Kingsley, Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, Rocky 3, Rambo, Blade Runner, ET, and the Falklands War. The first test tube baby also makes an appearance in a way that briefly derails the entire segment.
 
Ratings: 4.7 from the Aussie, 4.5 from the Scotsman. Go and see this at the cinema. Do not wait for streaming.
 
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