With much fanfare, it landed. This time capsule of what might have been. The film begins with an extraordinarily long-winded explanation of its long understood purpose. Then several sycophantic, brown-nosing would-be tour musicians and back-up dancers gush to the camera about the tremendous impact or influence Michael Jackson had on their lives, and how honoured they were to even be able to just fly across 14 time zones for a mass audition. (One guy even had the temerity to say that he started every morning with Jackson’s music. Now that’s Waylon Smithers level of toadying.) Ultimately though, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to cry, after all, these people were all excited for something that was never going to be.

When thinking about this pending review I was prepared to unleash every ounce of vitriolic oppositional fervour I could dispense at it. The media hype over everything Jackson since his death on June 25th reached proportions beyond that saved for the passing of royalty, statesmen and spiritual leaders; all for a musician that hasn’t been cultural relevant in over 15 years. Despite the affirmations, I find it dubious to think that the London series of concerts would have ended up being that radical a game changer for the King of Pop, but now we’ll never know.

Then the film began. And you know what? Even I had to admit that this was something to see. Does this mean I retract my petition to have certain CNN anchors fired for basically elevating the importance of Jackson with that of Martin Luther King Jr and other civil rights leaders? Absolutely not. But I do concede that this is appointment viewing for anyone that’s even bobbed their head to a Michael Jackson tune. There were times I think that the nearly full house got a little too into it, breaking into open and enthusiastic applause after key numbers, but I just rolled my eyes and waited to see what came next.

On a technical level, This is It is a wonderful look inside what it takes to mount a production of this magnitude and see all the craft and preparation that goes in to making them successful. The skill and dedication of those involved with the show is unparalleled and certainly inspiring, none more so than the gloved-one himself. Jackson ably shows that the years hadn’t robbed him of his grace as a performer, or dulled his mind as a showman. From what we see, Jackson was involved in even the most minute aspects of the production, from choreography to musical arrangements to the elaborate pre-taped video sequences. It’s hard to believe that this same man running back and forth across the stage needed a drug store to put him into a vegetative state every night.

Edited like a concert film, several of Jackson’s best hits get taken out for some air during rehearsal, and it makes you sad that it couldn’t have be realized for all its spit and polish because what they had on film was shaping up to be golden. Despite the relatively overboard media coverage for anything Jackson-related since his death, I think This is It is an important and timely work, and if it does anything, it demythologize Michael Jackson for an audience nearly ready to deify him. He was a gifted musician and entertainer, but that’s all This is It really proves, and that’s all it should. I will say that Jackson certainly enjoyed offering God’s blessing to the crew, to which, somewhere out in the unknowable realms of the universe, God says, “Next time, just leave Me a list.” Anyway, rest in peace, your majesty. Now maybe the rest of us can do the same.