I finally saw the Michael movie, and now I understand what Paris Jackson meant when she said the film would please the fans but does not reflect the truth. I had wondered what she meant exactly. After watching it, I get it.
The portrayal of MJ, though a very good impression, left the character of Michael feeling hollow and undeveloped. They depicted Joe Jackson as a harsh, abusive father—a villain—but when it came to Michael, he appeared completely unbothered. The real MJ was traumatized and terrified of his father. He admitted that just a look from Joe would make him physically ill. Yet in the film, Michael smiles through every confrontation, delivers affirmations, and moves forward as if nothing happened. His triumphs in the movie feel unearned because they never showed the real pain and challenges he had to overcome.
The energy of MJ consists of a sense of transmuted anger, and it is entirely missing from this movie. Yes, he was innocent and childlike, but he was also a complex human being with emotional depth—fury, resentment, fear, and a fierce will to survive. The film flattened him into a determined, smiling icon with no interior life. There were lost opportunities everywhere to explore this part of Michael, but the filmmakers chose spectacle over substance.
There are several issues within the film, but the main one that no one can ignore is the ending. It felt anti-climactic and deeply unsatisfying. Though I enjoyed the majority of the film, the ending lacked the emotional payoff the story had been building toward. The main narrative arc of the movie was the complex relationship Michael had with his father—a man who controlled, abused, and exploited him. The movie really should have ended with closure of this narrative arc, but instead, it ended with a concert and the text “The story continues.” It felt like they gave up.
As a writer, I love solving structural problems, and I couldn’t help but imagine the simplest way to resolve the movie’s ending. They didn’t have to do much to give a satisfying conclusion—they just needed a few extra clips of Michael and Joe. A scene of Joseph calling Michael and getting no answer. A shot of Michael dancing alone on the Neverland property, intercut with the Bad concert—the song becoming the soundtrack to his independence. A quiet moment of Michael walking his land, alone, finally free. That would have closed the father-son arc. That would have made his triumphs feel earned. That would have turned spectacle into story.
Paris Jackson was right in her feelings about the film. The film pleases the fans, but it doesn’t tell the truth. The truth is that Michael Jackson was not unbothered. He was a man who overcame tremendous fear, trauma, and control to build his own world—and that struggle is exactly what the movie left out.
Here is how I would have rewritten the ending if I were writing for the film.
FINAL SCENE OF MICHAEL
FADE IN:
INT. STADIUM – NIGHT (1988)
The roar of a crowd is deafening. MICHAEL JACKSON (30s) stands alone on a massive, darkened stage. A single spotlight hits him. He is electric. The music kicks in — the unmistakable opening bassline of “Bad.” He moves with precision, power, control. The crowd is a sea of screaming faces. This is the performance of a lifetime, the one everyone will remember. He is the King of Pop, the entertainer, the machine.
EXT. NEVERLAND RANCH – DAY
A warm California sun. The sky is vast, blue, and empty. We see the sprawling property for the first time: rolling hills, a lake, a railway station under construction, a carousel in the distance. It is a dreamland. And it is empty.
MICHAEL, now alone, walks across the grass. He wears a red shirt, black pants, a signature hat. No entourage. No handlers. No brothers. No father. Just him.
He looks around. He smiles.
The music from the stadium continues to play faintly on the soundtrack — a memory bleeding into the present.
CUT TO:
INT. STADIUM – NIGHT
MICHAEL spins. The crowd loses their minds. He hits the choreography with surgical precision — the crotch grab, the pivot, the kick. Perfect. White-gloved. Flawless.
CUT TO:
EXT. NEVERLAND RANCH – DAY
MICHAEL begins to dance. Not the polished choreography of the stage. Something looser, freer. A spin. A glide across the grass. He kicks his feet, arms open wide. He is not performing for anyone. He is dancing for himself. His laughter echoes across the empty property.
CUT TO:
INT. STADIUM – NIGHT
MICHAEL grabs the microphone. The crowd screams. “I’m bad, I’m bad, you know it…” He walks to the edge of the stage, looking out at the thousands of faces. He is electric. He is untouchable.
CUT TO:
EXT. NEVERLAND RANCH – DAY
MICHAEL spins again. His arms stretch wide, embracing the sky. He is not the King of Pop here. He is just a man who finally found his own land. The music rises: “Who’s bad?”
CUT TO:
INT. ENCINO FAMILY HOME – DAY
A telephone rings. It is Joseph’s office. The room is empty. The phone rings again. No one answers. The answering machine clicks on.
JOSEPH’S VOICE (V.O.)
Michael. It’s your father. Call me back. We need to talk about the tour. Michael.
The machine beeps. Silence.
CUT TO:
EXT. NEVERLAND RANCH – DAY
MICHAEL is alone by the lake. He is no longer dancing. He is just standing, looking out at the water. The music fades. All we hear is the wind and the birds. The camera slowly begins to pull back. We see him from above. A small figure on a vast, empty property.
The camera continues to zoom out. The lake, the house, the carousel, the trees — all come into frame. Michael is barely visible now. A tiny figure in his own world.
CUT TO:
TITLE CARD:
“In 1988, Michael purchased Neverland Ranch. It was his first home away from the Jackson family.”
FADE TO BLACK.
The “Bad” performance continues to play under the credits — but now it sounds different. It sounds like freedom.
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