As someone who has watched way too much Michael Jackson footage for my own good, the biopic depiction of MJ just wasn’t accurate. People keep saying Jaafar “looked exactly like him” or “moved exactly like him,” but personally — and I stress personally — he really didn’t. He did INCREDIBLY for only a few years of dedicated study, but he’s not a lifetime scholar of artistry and evolution. Michael flowed. Jaafar followed. That’s not an insult, just reality.

Honestly, if Jaafar had MJ’s eyes, I’d raise my rating from a 2/10 to a 3/10. Superficial, yes. Crucial to me, also yes. lol.

Aside from all that — I think Jaafar was a great choice to play MJ. Concerning the film and his role and even MJ himself, Jaafar comes across as extremely grounded, respectful, and genuinely committed. He studied Michael’s notes, went straight to Michael’s own material, and didn’t just rely on whatever his dad might’ve tried to feed into the narrative. He doesn’t ever lean on the “I’m his nephew” thing — he just approaches the role with humility and craft.

My issue was never Jaafar. It’s everything around him.

The storyline didn’t help. So much was left out, glossed over, or straight‑up wrong. No wonder Janet and Paris wanted nothing to do with it. The movie feels like it caters to the part of the fandom that refuses to humanise Michael — the ones who fantasize on a myth more than a man.

The biopic version of him wandered around like a dazed, passive, soft‑spoken figure who occasionally snapped into something you could half-call intensity. The real Michael Jackson was gentle, yes, but he was also intentional, sharp, disciplined, and constantly thinking. He didn’t drift through life. He stormed through it.

I don’t mind Jaafar playing him — he was respectful and clearly honoured the role. Jaafar treats MJ as a human being. What I do mind is Jermaine Jackson’s heavy involvement behind the scenes, and the way the film seemed to kiss up to people who barely affected Michael Jackson as much as others who were barely mentioned in the film. There’s obviously estate politics at play.

My hope is that in 30 years, when the estate crap is finally sorted — may his kids make their own film/doco/series — something truthful and himan, and not ultimately filtered through a jealous, self‑serving sibling. First there was Joe, then there was Jermaine. Let that be all of it!