In my opinion the film symbolically mirrors certain aspects of Michael's life. There are 3 acts to it the past present and future if you will. The past act includes the opening segment of man in the mirror where it seems Michael invites us to look back on his life. The following segment is a montage of Michael's past performances with his family. The Badder parody segment represents his growth as an artist and being a part of pop culture. Speed demon music video represents his conflicting need for attention and privacy from the fans. Michael is running away from them but at the same time he is playfully leading them on. The Leave me alone music video is a blatant dig at the media and represents his frustration and resentment towards them. The present (well 1988) is represented by the Smooth criminal segment of the film. The part before it shows Michael running in the field and playing with the children. He sees himself as their protector. This is almost symbolic of him getting in touch with his childhood which in his own words was taken from him. The Smooth criminal video represents Michael in his prime, as an untouchable force at the centre of attention in the club. He is in control and everyone dancing to his tune. The future of his life is represented by the events of the film after the Smooth criminal music video. The shooting at the club and the subsequent chase by soldiers with dogs represents his assassination by the media and hounding by the press. The children getting kidnapped represents the lost of trust in Michael following the molestation accusations. Hiding in the shadows within the ally ways is him becoming a recluse. Bizarrely the three children are a foreshadowing of Michael's future kids. The transformations within the film of Michael into a car and then a robot and space ship, are representative of the physical changes to his face. Finally the bad guy Mr Big the drug lord is a symbolic representative of his battle with prescription drugs.
@Laoch Why was that necessary? The person was just minding their own business reminiscing and you had to ruin it. You're gross. Child abuse jokes aren't funny, especially since the guy turned out to be innocent, leave those MJ jokes in the 2000s where they belong.
Generally, I think the music video for Smooth Criminal included in this movie is better than the Radio Edit one. this version generally feels more complete, and looks fluid.
Original published in February 2013 (has the old Blip.tv address at the bottom). To many people they may have not seen this review because Sony Music had blocked it on mobile devices such as iPhones, Tablets and many Countries around the world. Due to SONY always changing their policy on the availability of the Smooth Criminal song (sometimes it will be blocked worldwide then specific Countries) I've had to make many edits to make the video available.
Oliver Harper Thank you for your hard work. I don't know how much you had to edit but the final print came out great and you can tell it's handled with much care. I also like how you gave out interesting facts along with a review of the movie. Keep up the good work bro! Subscribed!
Narrative: Average Sound: Great Visuals: Good Entertainment Value: Good Overall Score: D+ MJ enthusiasts will love this because it captures Michael Jackson at the peak of his artistic powers. If you're a fan of traditional film making, you'll most likely avoid this one. As Oliver pointed out, this is a mixed bag of Michael's most ambitious ideas with no sense of structure. Makes me wish that Michael had someone like Steven Spielberg or Stanley Kubrick to sculpt his ideas into a sci-fi/fantasy masterpiece that felt more cohesive.
I'd like to make the suggestion that Michael's arm band is for Fred Astaire who died in '87. In this review you also say that Fred was a big influence on the Dance of Smooth Operator. It's in that Video that Michael wears the arm band.
Its interesting that Michael Jackson just lifted people from Superman: The Movie. It's such an interesting conceptual film as display of layered theming, and concepts. The idea of Michael Jackson as a mysterious being with supernatural abilities, saving kids from external threats like drugs, and more aggressive distractions. It's an interesting time-capsule. Come on, Oliver. Don't tell me you didn't believe in Moonwalker magic.
@@LoverBoy-im7xvdude The allegations were disproven The ones that acusated mj turned out to be liars trying to get michael's money And even some of the guys who came to say he did abuse of em were discoveres lying about it and even one of em was defending michael a few years before The documental was made through lies and manipulations just becuz the dude in the documental wasnt invited to a tribute to mj as the main coreographer
Yeah honestly his acting is pretty good, Would indeed be curious to see what he could have done with more proper roles. I mean I liked the movie as a kid, but of course it isn't like a good "movie" but i can enjoy it. And of course awesome music
It's not really a movie in the normal sense is it? It's a music anthology. Full of great visuals, songs and dancing and enjoyed for what it is, it ticks all the boxes. It's like a one of a kind, hard to put into just one category, like the man himself. Of course it would never win awards on the usual things a movie might get nominated for like screenplay and narrative but that's not the point. It's entertainment provided by one of the very best entertainers who ever lived. And while I wasn't a Jackson fan when I was a kid I still enjoyed the film when my mum took me to see it at the cinema as one of our regular movie afternoons and now I have become much more of a fan these days since a certain blatantly bullcrap 'documentary' compelled me to research the actual truth a couple years ago, I feel glad that I did get to see it on the big screen. Though I now also hate my younger self for not going with my then friends to Wembley for the Bad tour. Kicking myself right now talking about it. :P
Wouldn't have been worth it in the end. He had too much success and money to bother putting up with movie directors and film studios telling him what to do, and inevitably would have abandoned a film production over creative disputes. A studio would probably have only been able to entice him onto a movie project if he was given creative control, but then the story and continuity would have suffered as a result as he didn't seem to have much regard for conventional filmmaking. That being said, I think he might have been more open to doing voice over roles, like what Disney started doing after Aladin. If all he had to do was come in and read lines I think he'd have been a great addition to an animated film, plus he could have lent his singing ability since a lot of them were partly musicals. A shame it never happened really.
Such an odd movie. I still remember catching this on VH1 whenever they were doing a Micheal Jackson themed week. Looking at it as an adult, it looks more like someone took two short films and cobbled them together into an hour long movie with barely a plot. Michael Jackson's music is immortal, but this movie is just....strange.
how is this a "vanity project" by MJ? WE made him King of pop. We declared him THE most famous person on this planet. He never claimed any titles for himself. I have seen Moonwalker when i was a kid and i noticed that its mostly some americans or europeans who feel uneasy with this movie, specially the flashback montage part where it shows his genuine achievements. I never came across any african or latin american or asian who had issue with this movie. Its rather quite humble of him to show that what we already know as a recap of his beginnings to stardom. I think many people cant process the fact that MJ reached unnatural almost godly level of fame and recognition and that makes them feel insecure.
@ 7:54 Strangely enough, that thing whenever happens in the MOONWALKER game on the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis, I always felt like magic! Jumping to catch the shooting star to get secret super powers. :-)
I still have this on VHS from when I got it as a present for my 9th birthday...the tape is so worn out cause i watched it so much it shows up as black and white in certain segments lol
Just came across this looking up The Neverending Story. Great review! I remember watching this as a kid and while it felt confusing at times, it was still really fun and enjoyable. Anti-drug propaganda was such a huge thing in the 80s with PSAs, “very special episodes” on family sitcoms, an actual movie featuring popular Saturday morning cartoon characters, the whole thing with the Reagans; it was crazy! I remember thinking that all the adults must believe there is some evil warlord out to drug every kid on the planet. And then Michael does this! 😂 But now, I think it’s oddly prolific in a way because prescription drug dependency is at a high. I don’t remember in my youth so many children being diagnosed with ADHD and immediately drugged. The amount of vaccines given to children has increased. I believe our elderly citizens are woefully overmedicated. Michael having lupus, a back injury; both he and Prince living with chronic pain due to Michael’s burn and Prince’s hip. They had to rely on prescription drugs just to function normally when they both spent the majority of their short lives being quite health conscious and completely drug free. And yet Doctor prescribed and administered drugs led to their demise. I look at this now and think Mr. Big is Big Pharma and his foot soldiers are doctors. Since during the time this was made, Michael was already having to deal with pain management and had been diagnosed with Lupus, I have to wonder if part of this was an expression of what he may have been dealing with. Notice how the ONLY way he can defeat Mr. Big is to become an indestructible machine because in his human form he’s weak and outnumbered. I imagine this is what a health conscious man with a chronic illness wishes for himself. Alas, it’s probably not that deep. Michael more likely wanted to make a movie where he turned into a robot and had the money and the connections to make it happen. And for that, I will always respect him. Rest In Paradise, Moonwalker.
Thanx 4 posting Oliver. Love me some MJ and this song and the corresponding vid. Interested to c your critique on this. Your vids and analysis r always so interesting and insightful. Keep up the good work my friend!
This use to be my favorite film as a kid. I never saw it as a full length movie. But like Oliver mentioned, the main story doesn’t kick in till half way through. I knew it was just a bunch of music videos. But I did enjoy the music so much cause Michael Jackson was every kids favorite in the 80’s/90’s. I wish Michael Jackson did pursue a career in acting. There was a point where he almost got the role of Peter Pan in Hook, but the role went to Robin Williams. Michael Jackson was super salty towards Steven Spielberg because of that. Even though Robin did a really good job, I was always curious to see how Michael Jackson would’ve portrayed Peter.
Moonwalker shall always be a classic short film.☺ Generations will discover the Magic of Moonwalker!!! Get ur copy of Moonwalker on VHS ,you can find a copy on eBay or Amazon.This film is so rare to find.To find a VHS copy still sealed here in the USA, is getting harder and harder to find with each passing day!I've seen copy's of Moonwalker VHS sealed on eBay go as $100.00. wow that seems a high price to pay for a sealed old VHS but hey,It's Michael Jacksons Moonwalker!!!! If ur a true MJ collector,get ur own copy of Moonwalker on VHS.☺
I always wanted to see Moonwalker from 1988 and now I got it on blu ray from the UK so I might have to do some updates and other things to my blu ray player to watch Moonwalker. lol
Wow. I missed this video because I think I started watching Oliver's videos a wee bit later. But was on a bit of an MJ kick and surprisingly this popped up! And so... Without further ado... I must watch this thang. And the universe will be right again... 😉
Always wished it had been that last 30 mins stretched to a full movie, the backstory could easily have worked to do that. I guess career highlights weren't on RU-vid then though!
I really liked this film, I was going with it until the end when he turned into a robot; either way I still liked the movie. As for the Smooth Criminal segment, it is still mind blowing 30yrs later.
I get that this is just an antology for Michael' music videos, but overall I enjoyed this movie for its charm and the creativity each segment presents. It is a shame that Michael not got to showcase his ambition getting into films after this.
I think I did see this the first time round but still nice to see it back. I only became aware of Moonwalker as a kid cos my cousin had it on VHS. To be fair we would just fast forward it all & only watch the Smooth Criminal part as I imagine most people would have done. I used to see it in my local video store so I'm really glad I never hired it out before seeing it at my cousins cos I would of been pissed expecting a movie then getting an anthology of music videos. The arcade & Mega Drive games are quite cool though.
I saw this film in the cinema when it came out. I can't have been more than 9 years old at the time, and I just didn't get it for the most part. It was fun, but I didn't have a clue what was actually meant to be happening.
I agree the computer games weren't great. Still I do have the Amstrad CPC re-released version on the budget label KIXX re-release I was given by a friend for my 10th birthday. The arcade game is a lot of fun. Maybe repetitive like many arcade games but great graphics and sound and easy to play and fun in 3 players (no explanation for the other Jackson 'clones'. Maybe a couple of his most convincing impersonators?). The Mega Drive game like you say is pretty repetitive too and not a particularly well designed game but even today it has a charm about it. May be the novelty of playing as the iconic man himself and dancing about to great tunes while taking out the bad guys. So yeah, not a fantastic video game as such but often still gets recommended as a good example of an early Mega Drive cart worth adding to a retro gamer's collection. :)
I have it on LaserDisc. It was released on LD in the U.S. 3 times. The best was a remastered release pressed by DADC Austria. Sadly I have the worst release; the first Technidisc pressing which included an ad for Pepsi.
Hasbro should have made a Transformers toy of Jackson robot/spaceship from the end. Even included the car as an extra mode if possible. Well, they're doing a bunch of crossover toys with 80s and 90s franchises lately. We've had Transformers toys of Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Top Gun, X-Men cartoon and now Jurassic Park. So eh Hasbro, if you've caught up with the truth about Jackson and how those scammers and tabloids defamed him, come on bring us that Moonwalker Transformer figure. :)
William Li I think everything is now available. There are a couple of reviews only blocked in Germany because they stricter rules on using copyrighted material usually associated with music. I did a review for Santa Claus The Movie and Life-force in the early days of reviewing but Santa got blocked worldwide by StudioCanal+ and the Lifefroce review I removed due to it being a bit crap lol. I will return to LifeForce soon.
I don't know who was behind Michael Jackson's demise and subsequent death, but I know it has something to do with his ownership of part of Sony's music labels. They dragged him through the mud and I'll never forgive them. Devils in human skin.
"A completely ridiculous an naive idea" - Yeah, like faries and goblins and magic wands and dinosaurs being brought back to like. Why judge the movie like it's supposed to be real life? A comment like that isn't even worth giving.
Lol fair enough. I thought you were trying to critcise the film for not being realistic enough or something. Just felt weird after nothing was said about a rabbit costume coming to life. :P
Love the film but the kids doing bad all ways bugged me I rember Michael turning in to the can in 1988 and saying to my dad thay should do a live action transformers if I had none how that would turn out I would of kept my trap shut
BigGator5 oh good lord no. There video playback is clumsy and temperamental. They booted me off because they felt my work wasn't original. They wanted people doing VLOG videos etc.
BigGator5 A lot of the users on Blip don't want to jump to RU-vid because they're terrified of the whole copyright system, Blip doesn't have that. I have had to do it the hard way by contacting the studios direct and making my own contacts within the business to get permission to use footage. Blip is stress free with copyright claims but RU-vid you get a bigger audience and more awareness.
