The premiere for the biopic of the late singer Michael Jackson arrived earlier this month, and it is fair to say it has not been very well received.
The biopic, Michael, which sees the late King of Pop played by his nephew Jafaar, has been described as a "whitewash" by some reviewers, who see it has a heavily sanitised version of the musician's life.
While it looks at his rise to fame with the Jackson 5, as well as his successful solo career, one factor which stands out is that the movie fails to mention the much publicised allegations of sexual abuse made against Jackson.
This happened after any footage with referred to these allegations and subsequent court case were scrapped thanks to a historic non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
The biopic had originally included references to these allegations against Jackson, which saw him accused of sexually abusing young boys.
However, it was reported in Variety, that this footage was removed from the final product, including any mention of the charges of child molestation after conditions of a previous NDA were discovered. Jackson had been accusing of sexually abusing Jordan Chandler, who was 13 when the alleged offences took place.
But all references to these claims were scrapped after a previous NDA was found by lawyers for Jackson which prohibited the depiction or mentioning of Chandler in any movie. Following this, a new ending for the movie was filmed, concluding in the 1980s, prior to any allegations being made.
While the Hollywood Reporter did acknowledges the film "delivers for lifelong fans who cherish the music", the Telegraph points to the fact that it "refuses to address the elephant in the room".
One particularly harsh critic of this movie was the Independent's Clarisse Loughrey, who said that Michael was a "ghoulish, soulless cash grab".
"All Michael does is recreate, in mechanical style, the most famous visuals of Jackson's career," she said. "It's certainly easier that way. Why bother to depict a human being when you can simply turn them into a product?".
Michael Jackson was also cleared of sexually abusing a different boy in court in 2005.
While he did call the music scenes of the movie as "quite brilliant and thrilling", Kevin Maher of The Times claimed that Michael would be "known as that infamous film in which the subject became completely untethered from reality and the film delivered instead two hours of pure and unadulterated [rubbish]".
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph described the omission of any references to the allegations against Jackson was a "borderline-fatal problem".
"It is simply not credible for a film to claim to be about Michael Jackson without addressing, even obliquely, the accusations, controversies and sadness that dogged his later life," Collin said. "You don't have to dramatise these things; you should, at least, acknowledge or foreshadow them".
However, the reviews were not completely negative, with Jafaar Jackson's portrayal of his uncle coming in for praise from Pete Hammond of Deadline.
While stating that the film "falls short of giving any new insights", Hammond said that Jaafar Jackson "dazzles" in a film that fans would "eat up".
He added: "You are bound to leave this one dancing, and what is wrong with that?".
Other critics noted Jafaar's "uncanny" resemblance to his uncle, while Deadline said that he "sells this performance with all the right dance moves and sharp dramatic talent to make us believe Michael Jackson is once again with us".
Michael which is to arrive on screens tomorrow (April 24), also stars Colman Domingo as Michael's father Joe Jackson, Nia Long as mother Katherine Jackson, and Top Gun: Maverick star Miles Teller as entertainment lawyer John Branca.
The trailer for the biopic arrived in February. Check it out and more here.
