If I were to tell you there was a film where Michael Jackson becomes a little child, got chased by clay animated monsters, turned into a bunny, ran with a little girl into a cave to find a drug den, got chased by mobsters, turned into a car, gunned down several SWAT agents, became a robot and then flew to his home planet in a spaceship then would you believe me? Well you should, because all this and more happens in Moonwalker. One of the biggest WTF films you could ever see.
It has no plot. It has no logic. Heck, I don't even think it even had a script. I'm guessing Jackson just wrote a list of things he wanted to do and the filmmakers obliged since he's Michael Jackson. It's overly absurd nature seems to be at times one of the most detailed recreations of and LSD trip since Yellow Submarine was put to screen in the 60's. But as long as you can embrace this insane nature it can be pretty fun.
Mostly because everything in the film lacks any consistency with nothing other than Jacksons presence linking all the scenes together. Largely this is due to being split into several segment's and being shot by several people so nothing about the style or the plot keeps consistent. It starts with live concerts, then a mixture of clay and 2d animation sequences before shifting into what's best described as a dark noir style action. It's with this lack of consistency that becomes amusing with many of the scenes being either pointless or simply bizarre. Most of it just happens without any explanation whatsoever with no real arching story to link the different segments.
I'm guessing that this didn't matter too much for Jackson and that he just viewed the story of the film as a way of gratifying his wacky ideas and acting as filler between the times when he's singing. Towards the end of the film Jackson literally forgets about finishing the story and leaves the other characters behind so he can just have a music concert. But I can't really complain about this seeing as it is Michaels Jacksons songs, many of which coming from his prime in the 80's.
Also the music videos that accompany the songs are usually pretty cool. However sometimes they do get annoying and can show just how big an ego he had with Man in the Mirror being played over a mixture of fans cheering him like a god with footage of historic peace figures like Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Ghandi. Talk about holding yourself in high regard On top of that shortly after comes the Leave Me Alone song where he then complains about the attention that he's been getting. If you don't want attention then you shouldn't big up your persona so much!
Other sequences are simply awesome and amongst Jacksons best music videos. Take for example Smooth Criminal. Whilst it came out of nowhere and had no reason for being, the dance sequence is by far the films greatest moment. It's incredibly shot with an awesome fast paced style to keep in tune with the tone of the music. The dance choreography is amongst the best of Jackson's career with the likes of synchronised side steps and the famous lean keeping the sequence innovative throughout. And on top of all this, it just looks cool throughout with awesome gangster suits and finishing with Jackson getting out a massive gun and shooting out the entire room. All done to the already fantastic song, the Smooth Criminal sequence is a brilliant 10 minute music video and probably my favourite Michael Jackson music video. If you do not want to watch the rest of this film, I would strongly advise at least watching this scene on YouTube.
Then there are the live concert songs, which whilst obviously out of place (just like the rest of the film) do give a good concert feel throughout actually being filmed with fully packed audiences. After all it is Jackson's music and he is the king of pop. He's just got a great stage presence that even on film still allows him to dominate and keep you glued to the screen. It may lack plot but it would be impossible to deny that this film does have one heck of a soundtrack.
So when it comes to a film like this it really depends on what you're expecting. If you come in to this film expecting plot or characters, then you're going to be disappointed. But if you just watch it expecting some cool music sequences mixed with a whole lot of WTF moments you're going to be in for a treat. If nothing else the film does paint an interesting portrait in the mind of one of the greatest, albeit also strangest, singers of the 20th century and is worth a watch due to the sheer absurdity if nothing else.
It has no plot. It has no logic. Heck, I don't even think it even had a script. I'm guessing Jackson just wrote a list of things he wanted to do and the filmmakers obliged since he's Michael Jackson. It's overly absurd nature seems to be at times one of the most detailed recreations of and LSD trip since Yellow Submarine was put to screen in the 60's. But as long as you can embrace this insane nature it can be pretty fun.
Mostly because everything in the film lacks any consistency with nothing other than Jacksons presence linking all the scenes together. Largely this is due to being split into several segment's and being shot by several people so nothing about the style or the plot keeps consistent. It starts with live concerts, then a mixture of clay and 2d animation sequences before shifting into what's best described as a dark noir style action. It's with this lack of consistency that becomes amusing with many of the scenes being either pointless or simply bizarre. Most of it just happens without any explanation whatsoever with no real arching story to link the different segments.
I'm guessing that this didn't matter too much for Jackson and that he just viewed the story of the film as a way of gratifying his wacky ideas and acting as filler between the times when he's singing. Towards the end of the film Jackson literally forgets about finishing the story and leaves the other characters behind so he can just have a music concert. But I can't really complain about this seeing as it is Michaels Jacksons songs, many of which coming from his prime in the 80's.
Also the music videos that accompany the songs are usually pretty cool. However sometimes they do get annoying and can show just how big an ego he had with Man in the Mirror being played over a mixture of fans cheering him like a god with footage of historic peace figures like Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Ghandi. Talk about holding yourself in high regard On top of that shortly after comes the Leave Me Alone song where he then complains about the attention that he's been getting. If you don't want attention then you shouldn't big up your persona so much!
Other sequences are simply awesome and amongst Jacksons best music videos. Take for example Smooth Criminal. Whilst it came out of nowhere and had no reason for being, the dance sequence is by far the films greatest moment. It's incredibly shot with an awesome fast paced style to keep in tune with the tone of the music. The dance choreography is amongst the best of Jackson's career with the likes of synchronised side steps and the famous lean keeping the sequence innovative throughout. And on top of all this, it just looks cool throughout with awesome gangster suits and finishing with Jackson getting out a massive gun and shooting out the entire room. All done to the already fantastic song, the Smooth Criminal sequence is a brilliant 10 minute music video and probably my favourite Michael Jackson music video. If you do not want to watch the rest of this film, I would strongly advise at least watching this scene on YouTube.
Then there are the live concert songs, which whilst obviously out of place (just like the rest of the film) do give a good concert feel throughout actually being filmed with fully packed audiences. After all it is Jackson's music and he is the king of pop. He's just got a great stage presence that even on film still allows him to dominate and keep you glued to the screen. It may lack plot but it would be impossible to deny that this film does have one heck of a soundtrack.
So when it comes to a film like this it really depends on what you're expecting. If you come in to this film expecting plot or characters, then you're going to be disappointed. But if you just watch it expecting some cool music sequences mixed with a whole lot of WTF moments you're going to be in for a treat. If nothing else the film does paint an interesting portrait in the mind of one of the greatest, albeit also strangest, singers of the 20th century and is worth a watch due to the sheer absurdity if nothing else.