Good movie but grossly overrated

Absolutely brilliant

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Spike Lee could be a filmmaker with varied performance when it comes to films but here he truly displayed some professionalism covering the recording era of Michael Jackson's "Bad" album.Not only, he collects interviews from numerous individuals of the music industry but he carefully tries to avoid the myth and gossip traps that surround the name of Michael Jackson. This is a musical documentary at first and not a closer look as to who or what Michael Jackson was.An argument could be made that Lee decided to focus all his energy to the musical genius that Jackson was and how hard he worked to finish an album such as "Bad" including his any skills. The man was composing, producing, writing the songs, choreographing his videos, singing and dancing live, vocal arranging and beatboxing! It is a shame that the album itself had to endure endless criticism for not reaching the levels of "Thriller" and at that period it was considered a disappointment despite selling more than 30 million copies worldwide and being accompanied by the most successful tour of all time.After 25 years though, "Bad" is considered one of the best albums out there, a record unparalleled in terms of hits and quality balance. "Bad" is a record richer than "Thriller" with less filler and more meat. Lee's interviews, raw footage and behind the scenes tactics prove just that. Taking a massive 5 year period to be recorded, with hundreds of (finished) demos, lots of artistic input and various musical collaborations, "Bad" now gets the treatment and (much awaited) spotlight it deserves. Bad 25 celebrates the rich sound that Jackson's third solo record contained along with diverse musical engineering and craftmanship. The album has so many hits on so many levels - the short film of Smooth Criminal, the anti gravity lean, the West Side Story dance number of "Bad", the rock gritty sound of "Dirty Diana" with Steve Stevens' input, the psychedelic vibe in "Leave me alone" and the powerful anthem of "Man in the mirror" are just cases that display, suggest and reveal a creative and hard working genius at the peak of his game.It is really sad that people still tend to emphasize any negative or controversial aspects that Jackson may had. But the musical one is not one of them. For he remains at the pantheon of the most brilliant musicians and performers ever to walk the earth and perhaps, the greatest. And we cannot take that away from him. Ever

Bad25 is going to appeal to the Michael Jackson fan. It casts some much needed light on the creative process the led to the finished "Bad" album. This documentary will not appeal to those who want to learn more about Michael's private life, especially his eccentricities. It was interesting that the buying of the Beatles catalogue may have led to some of the junk journalism. Some junk journalism was released by people in Michael's group. If this is indeed the case, it backfired badly for Jackson. The documentary is a standard example of a factual documentary, with a lot of talking heads. I feel that Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Chris Brown and Cee LoGreen and maybe one or two others were unnecessary add-ins. They added little to the story, though with Mariah, it was funny to hear she had two dresses reminiscent of a Thumbtzen dress in the late 1980's. Little things like that are nice to hear, in my opinion. I have grown impatient with the amount of focus on Michael's private life. I'm a scientist, and if I have learned anything, it is this. Outside of science all you have is a court of law, which examines the available evidence. The general public have no right, in my opinion, to judge a person upon junk journalism. I remember in the documentary "The Michael Jackson Story", Seb Fontaine (narrator) pointed out at the beginning of the documentary that "it is easy to forget what all the fuss was about in the first place; it was of course his music". It is really sad that some people have actually "forgotten" why Jackson became famous in the first place. This documentary reminds us of a man driven by passion for music, driven by a passion to surpass himself musically, driven by a passion to entertain. He was a workaholic and he deserves credit for his hard work. It was not easy and few people remember this when they critically examine his music. There was one part of the documentary which fell down considerably. That was the discussion of the song "Just Good Friends". It was considered a "coffee break" between "Liberian Girl" and "The Way You Make Me Feel". I don't understand why. I like it. This documentary will bring people back to the man and his music. Buy the DVD, Watch it and leave your junk journalism down forever.

I had a chance to see 'BAD25' this past weekend at Yale University's Whitney Humanities Center. By the end of the 2 1/2 hour viewing I was in tears. Seeing Michael (not in his last days before his untimely demise) re 'This Is It' but during the momentous development of the followup album to the groundbreaking, record breaking "Thriller" album was a treat for real Michael Jackson fans. An emotional roller coaster that allowed you to laugh out loud at the anecdotes shared in one moment and listen in wonder during another. For real music fans like Spike Lee who grew up surrounded by musical talent and raised by a musician, watching the process for developing this album was a rare treat and a superior lesson in what it takes to harness the genius of an artist. Spike perfectly wove together interviews with Jackson's longtime collaborators: his sound engineer Bruce Swedien, super star composer Quincy Jones, his long time musicians, choreographers and other collaborators with those of present day artists that have been inspired by and owe much of their success to Michael Jackson's influence and legacy. Interspersed between those segments you get to see Michael at work. You witness his work ethic and all that inspired him to entice his audience visually. His short films (not videos) were as dear to him as the music he made. Spike was approached to do this documentary to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the release of the 'Bad' album. I remember where I was when I heard the first single. I was away at school living in Washington, D.C. I remember staying up late to watch his videos. I remember what it was like to hear 'Liberian Girl' for the first time. When you watch this documentary not only do you get to relive each of those moments, but you get to understand why you were so touched and affected by each song and each short film. A tremendous amount of work and nuance went into each recording. Bruce Swedien took us through the simple and yet unappreciated ways in which he was able to help create specific sounds for each song. Many amateurs will lament this approach because they do not understand MJ's influence. People will decry the use of old footage of Michael in concert but if you get to view it again you will understand. The Michael we knew and grew up loving was more himself during that time in his life than he was in the weeks and even months leading up to his death. Michael was suffering terribly from his addiction and was surrounded by those willing to aid him in that addiction. Painfully his family stood by helpless which is typical when dealing with an addict.Spike Lee very cleverly showed the reactions as he asked each person where they were when they heard that Michael Jackson had passed away. I too remember where I was when I heard the 'rumor'. That's what I called it because I did not believe it. Did not want to believe it. And as many said like Danyel Smith, during the interview 'still can't believe it'. Spike spoke to the audience after the viewing ended. He explained why the last segment of the documentary was dedicated to the making of the song "Man In The Mirror" written by the incredible singer & song writer Siedah Garrett. In short he explained to us in so much as when John Lennon died and 'Imagine' dominated the airwaves, "Man in the Mirror" stood out as the song that represented this icon. All of his songs were played but "Man in the Mirror" is the anthem that touches us all. I dare anyone not to tear up during those last 10 minutes. I want to thank Spike Lee for allowing us to revisit 1987. I can not think of a more perfect tribute to MJ and those who were lucky enough to work with him. And I feel especially lucky to have shared the experience of the documentary with my young nephew who loved every minute of it. A budding but true Michael Jackson fan.

This documentary really shows the craftsmanship of the King of Music. There are some funny stories, and more bonus footage to come when its released on BLURAY in FEB 2013. Can't wait. MJ in HD....i think this deserves 10 stars. Bad25 is a great release, its all about the music, and the music still stands up today. Its fresh, funky, and Bad :) While This is it covered the last tour, Bad25 covers one of his albums. Hopefully there will be more MJ album documentaries like this one. Spike Lee did a wonderful job, hopefully if they make more of these he will be the one making them. This documentary about the 1987 album is nothing short than great and everyone should watch it.