I went to the Gardens to watch 'This Is It' with no expectations. Heck, I don't even remember that Yaya and I bought tickets for Saturday night until the afternoon, which showed the state of mind I am in earlier. I'm not entirely sure what to look up for. Is it a documentary? Is it a tribute film? All I know during that time was the airing is only scheduled for 2 weeks only.
'This Is It' is a compilation of hundreds of hours of rehearsal footage, on how MJ and his crew prepared for what could be the greatest show ever performed by the great genius. In a nutshell, it shows you what to expect and what will the concert look like should it take place. There are footages of how the auditions for the dancers went on (a very brutal selection process I would say), the stage preparation, the visual effects. They even construct some new video scenes to complement the concert for songs like 'Thriller', 'Earth Song' and 'Smooth Criminal'. From what I saw, they really put an effort to make it BIG! It was going to be the greatest pop concert ever based on what I saw and its preparations.
Well, some might say that the release of this so-called film is only a mere publicity stunt, as a means to return what they have invested, taking advantage of the good name and just 'milk' the public in any way possible. I could not deny that possibility, and based on what I've read the public seemed to have that same opinion. But then, most of the public seemed to embrace the release of this film. Reviews were positive (at least the ones I read) said that they're glad to be able to watch MJ one last time, preparing of the greatest show in his life. Fans can see that MJ really loves his fans, and that is shown in the rehearsals. Yeah, he takes rehearsals very seriously!
MJ's attention to detail is very, very admirable. Despite being 50, he knows his stuff very well. He knows the right note to hit, when to excatly hit them. His dance move is still rockin'. You can see that he has the stamina to get the concert going. There are no signs of deteriorating health, although MH can been seen obviously thin. He is very methodical in his approach, and for that reason, it is a pleaure watching a genius at work.
I came back a happy audience. Despite being only a rehearsal footage, you can't help it but to be excited, excited of things that might happen. It is just unbelievable! Too bad the audience took it like they're watching a movie. I was dying to clap my hands, shouting 'Woooo' after each song and they can just sit there seriously like watching an epic film. Only when the end credits started to appear, people started clapping. What a dull audience. Have you not been in a concert before? That is how you should embrace 'This Is It', imo. A review from BBC can be read here. Go watch it if you're an MJ fan. I think you will not be disappointed...Signing off..
