#MichaelJackson #ThisIsIt my review 11 yes after its release. When I first watched it, I did so reluctantly, but I knew I had to watch it. It was emotional and most my thoughts were those of concern for Michael in his last days. Here is what I think, watching it again yesterday..

Prior to rehearsals, things looked to be on. Michael knew what he wanted and the green screen filming and dancer auditions gave us a happy MJ doing what he does best. He looked healthy, he looked to be slim but full. Overall, in quite decent shape...

This is especially evident in the sequence where MJ instructs his dancers on the TDCAU dance routine. MJ looks effortless, knows the moves back to front, and presents a commanding, confident figure. His dancers hang on to his every word/move...

The dancers were obviously talented dance artists. And while MJ seemed to be enjoying the dance audition in the brief cuts to him watching them, to me it seemed too big and unnecessarily 'So You Think You Can Dance' (this relates to what I thought about the entire production)...

I don't think the young dancers gelled well with a 50-year old Mike. This old and tried showing of the young urban dance ensemble, I find it to be very dated. It looks good in intimate or rigid dance routines with maybe 2 or 4 dancers as backup, but...

To me, MJ appeared disconnected from his dance ensemble. Moreover, I got the sense that these young dancers idolized him too much and as a result never got on his emotional level of what he wanted. This leads me to his band...

It is beyond clear MJ was frustrated with his band not knowing all the punch ins/outs, his classic cues they needed to watch out for, and not knowing the records as well as he did. Again, there was little real connection seen in rehearsals b/w MJ and the band...

I don't say this lightly, as I know some members have always been there. But the mixture of new blood in the band, as with the dancers, to me left them looking a bit lost and not understanding what Michael wanted, too afraid to ask questions, and too afraid to get it wrong...

Which leads me on to Kenny Ortega. It's clear he had MJ's best interests at heart from a health and safety standpoint, and he really tried to understand what MJ wanted. But, it was not a good pairing. Kenny started sounding a dad to Michael, and I don't think MJ desired this...

MJ wanted professionalism through and through. Not to be spoken to condescendingly and lectured about drinking water and being safe. I could sense this rubbed MJ up the wrong way. He was not enjoying his work with all these people around him. I am sure he felt lonely at work...

This is the opposite of MJ's work experiences I'm sure. It's no one's fault, but the personnel were all wrong, starting of course with the executives AEG Live. The appointments they made were incorrect. The vision of This Is It was wrong. It was dated and was lazy artistically...

I'm sure MJ wanted a big show. Some elements were incredible (green screen work, pyrotechnics, stage production), but after watching it I felt wanting of better ideas, new ideas. But AEG Live wanted a classic 1995 MJ show. I wish MJ had better advisers and planners...

And above all, I wish AEG Live were never involved, and of course that MJ never agreed to "this" type of show. He presented all the talent and professionalism to do some kind of show, just not this one. There was so much investment in this show that no one bothered to truly...

connect with Michael the person. And as I said, it's clear he was frustrated with what he had been given to work with. They were not ready. The chemistry was MIA. Above all, he must have felt lonely. He knew the show was no where near where he wanted it. IMO he was fighting...

a losing battle artistically and creatively. I wished he had gone for something more intimate, not entirely small and not This Is It, but somewhere in between. I hope this thread is coherent as it's mainly been a stream of consciousness from mind to keyboard...

Finally, while not realistic, a part of me wishes I could have been there to sit down and talk with Michael and ask 'how are you', does he think they were ready, anything you wanna change? Unfortunately, there was no room for that with the $$$ put in. AEG Live/Michael Jackson...

was an awful partnership. Lastly, I'll say thank you Michael Jackson for trying to give it back to the fans one last time, your efforts are so appreciated. We all know this is the only reason you wanted to do This Is It... the fans.
Love n peace.