Moonwalker (1988)

In 1988, Michael Jackson was literally on top of the world. His 1987 album Bad had set a record for the most number one singles to come from the same album. Add to that the fact that his previous albums had all set records for sales, to the extent that not even an organisation as powerful as the RIAA could withhold his rightful share of the money. To cut a long story short, Jackson was the King of the musical world, and even to an old cynic like myself who was raised on Black Sabbath, it did not seem undeserving. So when Michael Jackson asked for more than twenty million dollars to make a series of fantasy viginettes based around his songs that basically portray him as the saviour of the world, the last thing the combined powers of the MPAA and RIAA were willing to say was "no". But then the 1990s hit, and Michael Jackson's reputation in the world's consciousness changed from that of an eccentric billionaire to a worn out circus freak. Let that be a lesson to all budding musicians - if it can happen to Michael Jackson, it can literally happen to anybody.

It appears that Warner Brothers now own the rights to this rather odd piece, so it has finally seen the light of day on DVD-Video. This time capsule of the late 1980s is as odd now as most of the rest of the Michael Jackson material that came after. As you can expect from a film that mostly consists of viginettes put together to the specifications of an eccentric millionaire, unifying themes are hard to come by. The first thirty-five or so minutes of the film is a quick recap of Jackson's career up to that point, followed by what is essentially an extended pair of music videos that satirise the cannibalistic fascination the press had with Jackson in the 1980s. It is after this thirty-five minutes that the material finds a real focus, and in spite of the high bar set by the earlier material, it manages to get even stranger than before.

The plot of Moonwalker proper concerns itself with a non-specific future world where we follow three children living in a dirty world of squalor. As a hit squad makes an attempt on the life of Jackson, who is playing himself, we get a flashback to happier times that ends in a weird explanation of why the world we see is now so dirty. Joe Pesci portrays an embodiment of evil by the name of Frankie Lideo, whose ambition is to have every child in the world taking drugs. Given that Ritalin and such torture pills were still popular at the time, Jackson's vanity project takes on a scary level of accuracy I doubt he intended. Of course, the whole thing is just a transparent Just Say No message that gained Jackson a few points with the Reagan administration at the time, and doubtlessly got the nod from Bush senior, too. Not least because of Joe Pesci's immortally embarrassing line about how his troops have to stop "them" praying in school. I do not know whether Jackson or co-writer David Newman came up with this crock, but it is a good thing Jackson ran out of favours with the Republican party during the 1990s. Otherwise, who knows what kind of propaganda we would have to tolerate today?

To be fair, the new footage of the film is skilfully edited, shot, and choreographed. Being one of the few films shot with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio in mind, it is surprising how dynamic some of the shots are. Joe Pesci chews the scenery like he was previously on a hunger strike, while Paul Reubens gets a cameo as a voice and claymation puppet that will amuse the adults in the audience. The cinematography of the main

Fmovies: Wow, I forgot how great this movie was until I stumbled upon it while looking through the garage. It's a kind of strange combination of a bio of Michael Jackson, a collection of musical vignettes, and a story about a super hero fighting to save some little kids. The vignettes are good (especially Speed Demon), but the best part of this movie is the super hero segment, in which Michael Jackson turns into a car, a robot, and finally a spaceship (and it's just as weird as it sounds). Joe Pesci is hilarious, and has enough cool imagery and great music to entertain throughout!

The real gem however is the incredible "Smooth Criminal" video, which makes the movie worth owning for that part alone!

The first time I saw this "film" I loved it. When I was 11, I was more interested in the music and dancing. As I've grown older, I've become more interested in the acting as well. While the first half is just a retrospective of Michael's career (from the Jackson 5 up to "Bad"), it was still entertaining to watch. The "Badder" sequence could've been left out, though the kids were pretty good. "Speed Demon" and "Leave Me Alone" were funny, especially when the police officer tells Michael, "I need your autograph right here", after stopping him for dancing in a no-dancing zone. But it's "Smooth Criminal" that's the icing on the cake. Joe Pesci did an excellent job as the toughie (and that hair was wild). The dancing is perfect, and so are the special effects. The only thing I could have done without was the spiders. Any fan of Michael's should see this, if you haven't already. I give it a 10+!

Moonwalker fmovies. I've loved this movie ever since it first came out. I was about nine years old, and now I'm 27. I remember playing the video game on Sega Genisis. I had so much fun, I would love to show my son this movie. He likes Michael Jackson as well and I know he will love this movie just as I did when I was a kid. Even though he's much younger than I was when I first saw it. I can't wait for it to come out on DVD! I hope it comes out on DVD! Please let it come out on DVD!! I'm dying to see it again!!! Well that is my comment I hope that one day soon I'll get to view this movie again. I love all of the videos in this movie. My favorite mini-video is Badder!

Actually this movie has silly moments, both in the claymation part and in the Joe Pesci and children part, and it's much worse than other MJ movies like "The Wiz", "Captain Eo" and "Ghosts". But as a die hard Michael Jackson fan since almost eleven years, (Yeah, that's half my life, you guys!), I can't complain too much about it. Just seeing this lovely guy and hearing his wonderful music is a trip to Heaven for me. But as a movie, it's not good at all, and I'm afraid, that it would get a much lower grade for me, if my darling Mike hadn't been the one starring in it. But since no one but Mike IS the moonwalker, it has to get a 7 out of 10 from me.

I was a kid .. crazy about Michael Jackson. His music, his dancing .. He was and is the greatest of all times. Few days ago a friend gave me a present .. "Moonwalker" DVD .. I just couldn't believe it! So I took my time and saw the movie again.. After a lot of years, and it kicked me back in time. I almost cried. Not because of Michael Jackson but of the good old times I remembered back than when I went to his concerts, enjoying music and dancing. The movie gave me some other perspective than back then when i was a kid. You can truly see the parody that Michael went through his life. Thank You Michael Jackson to bring me back to those great times, to Your great music and dancing. It's a shame that people has forgotten You .. I didn't because You gave me great moments with your music .. All the best to You where ever You are out there ..