There's a sweet personal exchange near the end of "Michael Jackson's This Is It," the new concert film assembled from footage of the rehearsals for the London performances nullified by his death in June. Jackson is working out a dance sequence with Kenny Ortega, the director of the ill-fated concerts and of this documentary. Ortega lovingly mimics Jackson, overplaying his signature big hand gestures, and the superstar laughs."I love how the stewardesses do it," he says. "I love it!"It's a moment that illuminates not just the way Jackson danced or sang, but how he thought -- viewing the world in terms of movement, human semaphore."This Is It" offers only a few such insights into Jackson's artistic process, though enough surface to make this a useful document, as well as a beautiful one. Mostly it's a tribute to the power of Jackson's body and voice, which the film presents as surprisingly intact despite his age, 50 at the time of his death, and the various ailments that reportedly had plagued him in the preceding decades.Differing greatly from the rough, casual mood of many behind-the-scenes pop docs, this one is instead of a piece with Jackson's body of work: dazzling and strange, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.As a tragic teaser for the shows that might have been, "This Is It" hurts. If Jackson had been able to perform as he frequently does during these scenes, he would have accomplished the comeback for which he was so hungry.Though occasionally ragged, his voice is strong -- lush on such ballads as "Human Nature" and cutting in rockers like "Black or White" and "Beat It." And his dancing is utterly assured. It's tough to believe he was 50, he seems so feather-light and vigorous.The special effects and short films made for the O2 shows also delight. "Thriller" gets an update that takes the legendary video's graveyard scene into the Tim Burton era. "Smooth Criminal" inserts Jackson into the classic Hollywood films he loved -- from "Gilda" to "In a Lonely Place." There are aerialists, "pole dancing specialists," arcs of fire and one adorable little girl.Ortega has assembled this film to bewitch the senses rather than to expose the inevitably tough realities of a rehearsal process. The film's prologue states that this footage was meant for Jackson's personal library, yet it's hardly raw. It's lighted and edited like a real concert film, and the sound is almost too good to believe.Jackson does very occasionally slip up. The gaffes and vulnerable moments are welcome. Complaining about the newfangled ear monitors he's forced to wear, or chiding his dancers and band for encouraging him to sing in full voice when he should be conserving his instrument -- "I shouldn't be singing out, I am trying to warm up my voice to this moment, why are you doing this to me?" he exclaims, seeming truly abashed.The great artist is just a man, slightly anxious about this momentous and risky return.But such intimate views, so common in such music films as "Gimme Shelter" or Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster," are not the point of "This Is It." Ortega made this film to honor not just the memory of Jackson but the hard work of a big cast and crew that never made it to opening night.The film opens with emotional interviews with the dancers, apparently done while Jackson was still alive, about how excited they are to work with him; at times it threatens to veer off into "Fame" territory, celebrating the starry-eyed kids whose efforts lifted up their hero.Ortega is obviously aware, however, that the overwhelming draw is the footage of Jackson himself performing. "This Is It" always returns to those sequences, which don't exactly surprise -- Jackson had his moves, and he stuck with them -- but always impress.Here's the King of Pop throwing himself on the floor during "Beat It," reenacting the impish courtship dance of "The Way You Make Me Feel," doing the Soviet stomp in "They Don't Care About Us."His solo dance during "Billie Jean," complete with slow-motion crotch thrusts, is breathtaking. "At least we get a feel for it," Jackson murmurs afterward.These sequences are driven by Jackson's anomalous grace. They sometimes feel enhanced; his gauntness is downplayed; split screens make the dancing more magical; a careful sound mix hides most of the roughness for which any middle-aged singer must compensate.Jackson's total lack of engagement with the cameras adds to the unreal mood. He's always performing, but for the imagined masses, not for the filmgoer.Not reaching those masses was the final tragedy of Jackson's life. Occasionally, he's shown offering creative direction to his collaborators, and the steel in his voice reveals how much the world he was creating onstage meant to him. Everything, really: enough to push himself to the edge of human endurance."This Is It" doesn't entirely acknowledge that reality, and that's a little odd. But Jackson probably would have wanted it that way. ||||| This Is It: The IMAX Experience 2009 112 minutes Rated PG 
 
 There is no getting around the obvious exploitation factor at play. Regardless of how tasteful and respectful this film is, at the end of the day, Sony paid $60 million for the rights to this otherwise private footage because they wanted to cash in on the sudden and shocking death of its star. But if you can dissociate the material from the motive for its production, Kenny Ortega's This Is It works as a low-key farewell to a generational icon. As a Michael Jackson fan in the 80s and early 90s, I had always hoped that he could get his musical act together and go out with a dash of style (truth be told, he hadn't released a truly good album in nearly twenty-years). The underlying tragedy of this documentary is the realization of how close Jackson may have been to getting the comeback that his fans were yearning for. 
 
 A token amount of plot - the feature basically spans the last couple months of Jackson's life, detailing the rehearsal sessions for his upcoming 50-concert comeback tour that was to be his probable farewell to live performing. We see about a dozen songs, performed in clips from a few different rehearsals, with token tidbits of behind the scenes footage and previews of what would eventually be the multimedia supplements for each song (ie - 3D zombie movies for "Thriller", a mini-movie with Rita Hayworth and Humphrey Bogart for "Smooth Criminal"). What is most impressive is how strictly the film adheres to its business at hand. There are no side-stories, only a few brief testimonials, and nary a hint of the ultimate fate of this concert that everyone was so proud to be a part of. The vast majority of the running time is all about the production and rehearsals that went into the would-be tour itself. The only sentiment comes from Michael Jackson himself, as he occasionally opines about the state of the environment. 
 
 However interesting this stuff is as a time-capsule, the fact still remains that this is rehearsal footage, and thus you're not seeing Jackson at his peak, or even giving it his all in any given performance. He mentions several times that he's trying not to tax his voice prior to the actual performances, and his dancing is often half-hearted at best. Intentional or not, there is a disturbing undertone at play, as we wonder whether the forgotten song lyrics, physical hesitations, and sometimes underwhelming performance was merely the product of the rehearsal process, or an accidental glimpse of a 50-year old musician struggling to perform like the 25-year old who changed the world half a lifetime ago. 
 
 Still, if the King of Pop is no longer the young man who first moon-walked at the Motown 25th Anniversary Celebration in 1983, he is certainly willing to cede the occasional spotlight to those around him. Some of the best footage involves the back-up singers and musicians who got to live out their dream of performing with their idol. In fact, since much of the footage is the standard video quality, the core appeal of the IMAX format is getting a chance to really listen to the actual music that inspired a generation of young artists ("Beat It" has a killer guitar solo that's up there with "Johnny Be Good" or "Purple Haze"). And Jackson certainly seems grateful to the talent that he has at his fingertips, and his few attempts to be a stern taskmaster come off as genuinely comical. 
 
 Whether or not the motives behind this picture are pure (director Kenny Ortega seems genuinely interested in honoring his friend), This Is It remains an interesting curiosity that avoids both tawdry sensationalism and lionization (no mention is made of either his personal life or his untimely death). But there is also a clear lack of any kind of illumination to who Jackson really was. Even during private rehearsals, he still seems 'on', so don't expect any kind of unguarded moments or epiphanies about this deeply private man. Whether or not This Is It needs to be seen in theaters is an open question, but it's certainly a must-own DVD for the most devoted Michael Jackson fans. Me? I'll stick with my CDs of Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad, preferring to remember him during the period when he was truly the king of pop. 
 
 Grade: B- ||||| How ironic. Michael Jackson is dead. But in “This Is It,” the filmed chronicle of rehearsals for shows that never happened, he finally gets his greatest wish granted: He’s a movie star (here’s THR’s review from Kirk Honeycutt). 
 
 “This Is It” is quite extraordinary. If there was any doubt that Michael was in control of the shows or his decisions, those fears are allayed here. Maybe he was sleeping 15 hours a day. But during these rehearsals, he couldn’t have been more focused or hardworking. It is truly amazing considering the last 16 years of total lunacy to see him so capable. 
 
 Director Kenny Ortega was smart in his edits. You see Michael almost from the beginning, dancing up a storm, singing without assistance vibrantly. True, he is very thin. But you also see that it’s a result of working out like crazy. Yes, he could have been five pounds heavier. But I dare anyone who sees this movie to try one of Michael’s moves. 
 
 “This Is It” is also notable for its emotional moments. At the end of a rehearsal of the Jackson 5 hit “I’ll Be There,” he calls out all of his brothers for a thank-you, as well as both parents. It’s a three-hanky moment. Some of his family will be embarrassed now about the way they’ve behaved. 
 
 One thing’s for sure: AEG spent a lot of money on this show. The production numbers are spectacular and sumptuous. “Smooth Criminal” is one of the standouts. The making of the “Thriller” number in 3D is remarkable. 
 
 And just wait ’til you see and hear him sing “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” and “The Way You Make Me Feel” as Michael sings the blues and teaches the musicians how to play his charts. “It needs more booty,” he tells a keyboard player trying to get the right sexiness. 
 
 Will “This Is It,” dedicated to Michael’s kids, be a hit? Let’s put it this way: I already want to see it again. The fans will see it five times. Expect Sony to extend this release. “This Is It” is the “Thriller” of the year. 
 
 As Michael himself says, it’s a great adventure. 
 
 For another take on the “This Is It” premiere on the West Coast, check out THR’s Risky Business blog. Read the film review by THR chief film critic Kirk Honeycutt here. 
 
 THE STARS COME OUT IN NYC 
 
 Spike Lee was the first boldfaced name we saw wander into Theater 9 at the Regal E Walk tonight for “This Is It.” He had his kids with him. The rest of the A-list gang followed: Gayle King, Russell Simmons, Sherri Shepherd. Famed director Lasse Hallstrom brought his 14-year-old daughter. “Law & Order: SVU” star Tamara Tunie arrived with buddy Marva Hicks. Bob and Lynne Balaban took corner seats. Clive Davis snuck in with two lady friends at the last minute. Elsewhere in the room, DJ Cassidy – a wild Michael Jackson fan– was already thinking about queueing up for the midnight show. There were rare appearances by Ed and Annie Pressman, Johnny Pigozzi and Ken Sunshine. And these were just the people Peggy Siegal stocked Theatre 9 with — Bryan Bantry had his own gang in No. 8. 
 
 It was a far cry from the shallow nuttiness we watched on the screen from Hollywood. Leanza Cornett, once a Miss America, is no Katie Couric, that’s for sure. She looked at a loss as a gaggle of ferociously unimportant people filed by her: Jennifer Love Hewitt and her boyfriend, Jamie Kennedy; American Idols Adam Lambert and David Cook; a bewildered Paula Abdul. Nia Long. Will Smith was smart and didn’t go near her. Also seen on the red carpet: fake Jackson kid Omer Bhatti and his mom, Pia Bhatti, still looking for some spotlight. And then the Jackson brothers Marlon, Tito, and Jackie -- nice guys. They almost got to speak, but then Jermaine –resplendent in a blue magic carpet of a coat that looked like it was made by Persian Bob’s Cut Rate Carpets — horned in and started answering questions. The other brothers barely looked at him. In the background was a guy known only as Raffles, a Joe Jackson lackey with a sketchy history who skipped his usual yellow jacket full of black question marks. The whole thing was summed up in its total lack of importance by Cornett interviewing Mary Hart. All they were missing was Bubbles the Chimp…
– Michael Jackson didn't live long enough to take the final bow he had planned in London, but critics agree This Is It is a fitting swan song, proof that the King of Pop really did have a comeback in him: "This Is It is quite extraordinary. If there was any doubt that Michael was in control of the shows or his decisions, those fears are allayed here," writes Roger Friedman for the Hollywood Reporter. "It is truly amazing, considering the last 16 years of total lunacy, to see him so capable." "Differing greatly from the rough, casual mood of many behind-the-scenes pop docs, this one is instead of a piece with Jackson's body of work: dazzling and strange, blurring the line between fantasy and reality," writes Ann Powers for the Los Angeles Times. "Had Michael Jackson’s series of concerts at London’s O2 Arena gone off as planned earlier this summer, it would have almost certainly signaled one of the most dramatic comebacks in pop music history," writes Andrew Barker in Variety. "The rehearsal footage on display in Michael Jackson’s This Is It is evidence enough to draw that conclusion." "There is a clear lack of any kind of illumination to who Jackson really was," writes Scott Mendelson on the Huffington Post. "Even during private rehearsals, he still seems 'on', so don't expect any kind of unguarded moments or epiphanies about this deeply private man."