Did 'Thriller' Surpass the Original? The Movie 'Michael' That Stirs the Hearts of the MTV Generation

Sunday, July 26, 2026. Hello, it's Kuri-san (^^♪
Today is the Day of the Ox. Did everyone eat eel? Let's build up our stamina and get through this unusually hot summer♪

Now then,
I went to see the much-talked-about movie 'Michael'.

Wow, this is irresistible for the generation that was totally hooked on MTV during their adolescence!

Every time a song played on the screen, bittersweet memories of my youth came flooding back like a tidal wave. It wasn't just 'nostalgia'; it was a breathtaking sensation, as if the very era I was obsessed with was rising up before my eyes once again.

This time, rather than a detailed synopsis, I want to write down my honest impressions while the excitement of having just finished watching it is still fresh.

The era when MTV turned music into something you 'watch'

While you can watch your favorite music videos on YouTube anytime now, that wasn't the case during our adolescence.

We would be glued to the TV, waiting patiently for the song we wanted to hear to come on MTV. And then, we would hold our breath at the images we were seeing for the first time. A single music video that happened to play could even become the biggest event of the day.

Michael, who suddenly appeared in such an era, was not just a star who was great at singing and dancing.

He was a pioneer who fused music and visuals into a completely new piece of art.

When you listen to the songs, the visuals come to mind, and when you watch the visuals, your body starts keeping the rhythm on its own. I keenly felt that Michael's work is stored not just in our ears, but in our eyes and our entire bodies.

That is precisely why the feeling of watching this movie was a little different from 'watching a biopic of a singer I liked.' It was a special time, as if I were re-experiencing a part of my own youth in the movie theater.

Did this version of 'Thriller' surpass the original?

The scene that really stirred my heart in this movie was, of course, the 'Thriller' sequence.

No one would argue that the original music video is a historical masterpiece.

Fully aware of that, I still want to dare to say it.

Perhaps the 'Thriller' in the movie surpassed the original, that is.

Of course, that doesn't mean the old work has become outdated. It means that the great worldview established by the original was elevated into an even deeper, three-dimensional experience through modern visual technology, a giant screen, and superb theater sound.

Even though I knew every development and the ending of the scene, my heart wouldn't stop racing. The dynamism of the zombies, the density of the visuals filling the screen, the overwhelming sense of exhilaration the moment the intro played—I couldn't hide my excitement, thinking, 'I came here to bathe my whole body in this on the big screen!'

Maintaining deep respect for the original while creating new excitement. This version of 'Thriller' was a brilliant, iconic scene that met that difficult challenge head-on.

Where did that overwhelming sense of realism come from?

Regarding the sound, it was even more satisfying than I had expected.

Even though these are songs I should be used to hearing, the pressure of the bass resonating in my body and the presence of the vocals were completely different from my home speakers. I realized once again that Michael's music truly shows its worth when played in a large space.

I was drawn in while watching, wondering, 'Is this a new remaster for the film, or the original audio from back then?' but after looking it up later, it all made sense.

The lead actor, Jaafar Jackson, reportedly layered his own vocals over Michael's original recordings during performance scenes, and in some parts, he even performed live a cappella.

I see, that 'vivid sensation of listening to the Michael of the past while he is singing right in front of me' was born from that masterful fusion.

The only thing that bothered me slightly: the 'position of the sound'

On the other hand, there was one point regarding the acoustics that I felt was a bit of a shame.

That is, the sound positioning (localization) felt like it was stuck almost entirely in the center of the screen.

Even though Michael and the dancers were moving around dynamically on screen and the audience was going wild, the sound reaching my ears was confined to the center of the screen, which gave it a somewhat flat impression.

This is likely something influenced by the movie theater's sound equipment, the screening format, or even the seat location. Still, because this is a work where 'music is the protagonist,' I think it would have been even more incredible if it had used immersive audio (like Dolby Atmos) where the sound spreads front, back, left, and right, wrapping the entire venue in a vortex of sound.

That said, that was about the only point I felt dissatisfied with.

I didn't go to see Michael. I went to meet the version of myself from back then.

Music deeply etched into one's youth is not just entertainment from the past. Just by hearing the intro, the atmosphere and emotions of that time are instantly brought back—Michael's music has the power of a time capsule that carefully preserves our memories.

What was on the screen was, of course, Michael Jackson.

However, who I reunited with there was also my adolescent self, who was obsessed with MTV and whose eyes would light up every time a new video played.

That is why I think it stirred my heart so much.

The movie 'Michael' is not just a work that looks back on the turbulent life of a great star. For those who lived through that era alongside his music, it is a time machine that plays back our memories at high volume once again.

Although there was a slight snag with the acoustics, it was a deeply satisfying two-plus hours that far outweighed it.

I hope that the generation who experienced him in real-time will definitely visit the theater. And I also hope that the younger generation will experience for themselves, through the screen and the sound, why we were so crazy about Michael.

That excitement we felt in front of the CRT screen back then still hasn't ended.

See you later. This was Kuri-san (^^♪

PS. Michael in the movie eats popcorn so deliciously that, even though it's a no-go for my low-carb diet, I ended up buying some ( ´∀｀ ) It's delicious, I can't stop eating it... this is bad... that's all for now.

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I am working on activities to promote low-carb diets.
I collect low-carb sweets and such on Rakuten ROOM.
Please use it when you are having trouble deciding what to eat.
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I have also started making T-shirts. Just taking a look would be encouraging.
Thank you.