Michael Jackson's This Is It

Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American documentary–concert film directed by Kenny Ortega that documents Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but canceled due to his death eighteen days prior on June 25. It is the last film Jackson starred in. The film is now the highest grossing concert movie and documentary in the history of cinema.

Plot
In 2008 Michael Jackson announced a history-making epic comeback that wouldn't be topped for decades to come. Calling the shows "This Is It", he booked 50 back to back dates at London's O2 Arena that sold out in a matter of mere minutes. And he certainly wasn't about to disappoint - pulling in a budget for these shows that would rival most feature films and set about updating his classics from "Smooth Criminal", "The Man In The Mirror", "Human Nature", "Beat It", and of course "Thriller" for the modern era. This movie consists of the rehearsal footage of the full set - with a tight back up band and dancers, and some really amazing video sequences and pyrotechnics - that was to be performed at the O2. However - not even the week before his tragic death of an overdose on June 25th, 2009, the band, the crew, and Michael himself were a week away from going to London to pull off the epic comeback. Instead the footage that exists from the rehearsals is only a sad reminder of what could have been: This Is It.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It tells us everything about Michael's supposedly upcoming tour.
 * 2) We get to see behind the scenes of his tour and the last time we see him alive 5 months after his death.
 * 3) Decent choreography.
 * 4) Great musical score.
 * 5) The soundtrack is one of the best parts of this film.
 * 6) Really entertaining and heartwarming moments.
 * 7) Great directing from Kenny Ortega.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) Many of his songs weren't played in the documentary.

Reception
The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 80% of 162 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.1 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that "While it may not be the definitive concert film (or the insightful backstage look) some will hope for, Michael Jackson's This Is It packs more than enough entertainment value to live up to its ambitious title." Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 67 based on 32 reviews.