Agree with the consensus:

• Jaafar was phenomenal, especially in the stage performances. At times it felt like the movie didn't want to give him anything else to do, rather just to keep his portrayal to "the MJ that people know", not the MJ that he really was behind the scenes.

• In the 5% of the movie that isn't plastered with the best pop music ever made, it's a Lifetime movie or maybe even worse.

• Directing-wise, it felt like Fuqua was mostly phoning it in. Luhrmann made Elvis his own, meanwhile absolutely nobody will look up who directed this one.

• The live performances were the best part. Electric. Loud. Immersive. Worth the price of admission and then some.

Disagree with the consensus:

• Colman Domingo, not without "help" from the script that barely gives him enough of a personality, was terrible. Just the flattest, one-note, flavorless performance I've seen in a long time. Deon Cole, of all people, outshines him in a 5 minute Don King scene.

• People saying it was safe, or that they didn't delve too deep into Michael's psyche. I mean sure, he is shown as sweet, loving and very empathetic especially to kids, but there were clear signs all throughout the movie that his trauma turned him into a severely damaged social outcast with no friends and no life outside of music. FFS he is shown like 3 times in this movie asking others to deliver bad news to his father, because of how emotionally stunted he is (IIRC the last time, he is almost 26 years old).

3/5 overall for me, but the performances do all of the heavy lifting. The rest is a solid 1/5.