This Is It: The Concerts That Never Happened

Michael Jackson's This Is It DVDMichael Jackson was set to perform his very last tour at London’s O2 Arena, in a series of fifty concerts entitled “This Is It”. The tour schedule would last from July 2009 through March 2010.

But on June 25, 2009, a tragedy came up that would end up canceling the entire tour. The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, died at age 50 from cardiac arrest.

Following Jackson’s death, Columbia Pictures and AEG Live planned to distribute a concert film containing rehearsal footage from the tour and named it “Michael Jackson’s This Is It”. The movie released in theaters on October 28, 2009, and lasted for only two weeks.

This Is It captures viewers into a behind-the-scenes angle of the planned concerts. We see Michael Jackson, as talented as he always has been. He performs a number of hits, sounding and dancing as good as ever.

The movie showcases Michael rehearsing eighteen hits. Many songs have Michael singing in a low voice, preserving his voice for the show. And three performances contain short-films: “Smooth Criminal”, “Thriller”, and “Earth Song”.

I really enjoyed the Smooth Criminal and Thriller scenes. “Smooth Criminal” had Michael on the run in the short-film, sliding down a banister and crashing out of a window. “Thriller” featured a more modern version of the old music video, and Michael popping out of a large spider on stage.

“Earth Song” showed Michael’s eco-friendly side. It shows him really concerned about the destruction of rain forests. And he stated that he wrote his songs to give hope to people.

You can see that Michael was such a perfectionist; everything had to be perfect for the tour. But he was certainly nice to everyone involved.

Michael’s performance of “Man in the Mirror” is probably the saddest part, knowing that it’s the last time you’ll ever see Michael Jackson.

The concert was going to finish off with MJ Air. The cast members would look as if they were aboarding a plane, with Michael being the last one waving goodbye. The plane would then appear to take off over the audience.

I rate this movie an A. I believe it is the best concert film ever made.

It’s definitely a must see. You get to see a nice, caring side of Michael Jackson. I recommend this movie to all Michael Jackson fans. You won’t be disappointed.

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